T^Ct 



<z> 






^ Jirst Number. ^ 



-•«♦♦ 



/^K "♦• 



1. AVHAT IT IS; 

2. WHAT IT DOES;^ 

3. WHAT IT ENJOYS; 

4. WHAT IT NEEDS. 



I» !<>■ * 



By FI.AVIU§ J. COOK. 



— ■♦'— / V 



W. L/INSING & SON, 

Sook and Job Printers, KeeseTilI«4 I^T/Y^ 

1858. 



I 






Entered according to Act of CongresSj in the year 1858, by 

FLAVIUS J. COOK, 
In the Clerk's Office of the Northern District of New York. 



PREFACE. 



To fix historical facts of interest and value from vanishing, 
to encourage and enliven local industry, to strengthen local 
desire for improvement, to do justice to merit, to bring to no- 
tice natural advantages and internal resources, to inform and 
elevate public sentimenc, to suggest general and special local 
reform, and to begin a plan which it is hoped may be extend- 
ed to other towns with the same benefits, are the principal ob- 
lects for which the Home Sketches op Ticonderoga have 

3n written. 

[t was required, by the proposition made, to write a full, 
ar, honest history of the Town; a distinct, truthful, and re- 
'jle document concerning Ticonderoga; not a careless surface 
restigation, not an advertisement for any man, not a pom- 
as parade of local vanity, but a select and well-studied re- 

d, a sober view of good qualities, a clear admission of faults, 
oamphlet distinctly purposing usefulness. This has been 
• model which the writer has proposed to himself continual- 
; and, in endeavoring to approach it, much more time and 

ce than at first expected have been found necessary, and 
'.siderably more carefulness and labor. 

j?or facts, in that portion of the pamphlet requiring origin- 
al investigation, the writer has canvassed the town with pen- 
cil and portfolio, questioned and cross-questioned individuals 
competent as witnesses, desired every man to speak as though 
on the stand under oath, taken testimonies from parties inter- 
ested and uninterested concerning the same facts, recorded 
personal observations, obtained access to private papers, let- 
ters, notes, deeds, ledgers and other records ; and spared no 
time or pains to secure for every statement sufficient proof for 
its confirmation even by the rules of legal evidence. The ma- 
terials thus gathered he then sat down at leisure and sorted ; 
compared, silted and verified the facts with each other ; meth- 
odised them all into sections ; made the subject of each a spe- 
cial study ; and recorded the whole with us much accuracy, 
clearness, brevity and elegance of expression, as the pen of a 
farmer'is boy, making no literary pretensions whatevvor, could 
command. Thus made out, the sections were always submitted 
to the parties interested, either in manuscript or proof sheet ; 
not for revision of any of the anilior's opinions, but with the 



IV 

urgent invitation to make sncli corrections in the facts or sug- 
gestions as to the mode of expression, as accuracy and justice 
should require. Having thus enjoyed every opportunity and 
taken all pains to secure nnirapeachable accuracy, the articles 
were published to the County in the JVorihern Standard, and 
immediately scanned for mistakes by friends and critics, and 
in one or two instances by individuals eager to lind matter for 
a charge of libel against the writer. All statements questioned 
in this last examination have been reinvestigated, and every 
mistake of any importance proved, placed in the very brief 
list of errata at the end of the volume. In a rural locality 
the absence of all public records increases the labor of ascer- 
taining dates and events ; but, when it is remembered that 
most of the facts mentioned in the original history are within 
the memory of persons now living, a large portion of them of 
very recent occurrence, a major part from the keen memory of 
men concerning their own business, and all of them verified 
by the course above indicated, it is hoped that the statements 
will receive that confidence which is their due. If anything 
is wrong, the author is confident it will be found among the 
statements of minor consequence; and even there, if incorrect, 
it is because he has been misinformed, not once but half a doz- 
en times. For any inaccuracies of this kind the author is 
heartily sorry, and though he cannot hope but that among a 
multitude of particulars a few may be criticised, yet he can say 
that he has done his best to write reliably, some of the sec- 
tions costing a fortnight's canvass, and that he does not now 
know, in the^whole pamphlet, of one mis-colored statement. A 
few minor faults, every scholar knows, do not impair the gen- 
eral validity of the whole. 

To name all the authorities consulted would of course be 
impossible. They are among the old men, the business men, 
the prominent men, and the clear-headed men of the town. — 
To each one of them the writer returns most heart}' thanks, 
in his own name and in that of Ticonderoga. 

As to opinions, and inferences from facts, having consulted 
no authority, the author supposes that he alone is to l)lame. 
For the chapter ou what the town needs, the estimates of so- 
cial evils, public efforts, advantages, virtues, &c., sometimes 
differing from the popular opinion, he must exhonerate every 
one from responsibility. All selections of facts and express- 
ions of oi)inion, are to be borne by the writer alone. 

Special pleasure and pains have been taken in gathering 
Historical Reminiscences, of which few towns have more or 
stand in greater need of a thorough record. 

One evening last summer, while planning work for a years' 
vacation 131 an educational course, it occurred to the writer 
th.at a few .articles on the Historical ivjiuiuisconces ot Ticon- 



deroga, written for a friond connected witli the County Pre??, 
miglit not be unacceptable. And if of the past wliy not of 
the present, and if for one town why not for others, and tlius 
the plan of the Home Sketches suggested itself, was matured, 
written down next morning, and the proposition sent to the 
Editor, the writer hardly hoping it would bo printed. It has 
borne fruit, however; and the promise made concerning one 
town is now fulfilled. The short' work has occupied the leis- 
ure of but a twelve month. Yet God be thanked for all the 
joy given in gathering facts and writing, for some discipline, 
for some instruction, for some knowledge of mens' ways, for 
some usefulness. His blessing be with the Record to make it 
accomplish good, in its humble and limited sphere. Others 
have a life-time, but the writer had but one year to work for 
liis native town, and has done far less than he ought, yet what 
he could, in that year. 

So the Home Sketches are begun. Other and better vmters 
are expected and besought to give themselves the valuable dis- 
cipline, their respective towns the profit, and the public at 
large the instruction cud pleasure, of continuing them through 
the County, and through every locality, indeed, where authori- 
ties, a writer and a publisher can be found to unite in a work, 
which, though humble, is yet one of usefulness and of love. — 
Not until the common people are more fully understood; not 
until common affairs are more thoroughly investigated; not 
until men believe every fact of some value in some connection; 
not until the nation is taken up, by states and counties not on- 
ly, but town by town and neighlwrhood by neighborhood, 
and every corner searched by the lighted blaze of Benevolence 
and Christianity, guaging progress, noticing errors, sympa- 
thizing with difliculties. inciting to improvement, asking how 
the people do down here where lordly literature passes by — 
not until then will Reform thoroughly begin, not until then 
will comprehensive History have blossomed, and Experience 
..and Philanthropy have borne their perfect fi'uits.. 

F. J. C. 

TicoMDEROGA, N. Y., Augugt 23, 1858. 



(From till- N'ortliorii Ptaiulard of SoptciubiT Srd, IK'.) 

IfO:nE SKETCHES OF ESSEX COUNTY,— A PROPOSITION TO 
EACH TOWN. 

To Tire Editor of the XoRTtiKRN Standard: — Every one has folt or seen with what interest 
lociil items in newspapers are searched for, though sometimes of the most trivial character. — 
Hut local items, ably chosen and written, have a positive and permanent vahie. There is reason 
for the interest talcen in them. They arouse the activities, elevate the views, express the wants, 
manifest the excellencies, sustain the g'ood reputation, spread the acquaintance, excite the inter- 
est, and record the history of the persons, institutions, or communities to which they relate. — 
Directly, indirectly, and by intercnange, they interest, instruct, arouse, uphold, elevate, reform. 
And, in this age of the press, when it is complained, with so much justice, perhaps, that the me- 
tropolis paper eats up the circulation of the state paper, and these both that of the county 
paper, it seems that, to secure interest and value by developing the local interests of its sphere, 
is for the latter the course of necessity, of good judgment, and of positive duty. Certainly, at, 
least, the interest which attaches to local matters is a means of doing good, for which every ed- 
itor or speaker is responsible. 

In view of considerations like these, I have a little plan to propose to any friend in each of tho 
towns of this County who may view this matter in a favorable light, to be carried out, ilr. Editor, 
\>y vonr kind consent, through communications to your paper. 

1.' What it is ? 2. What it docs? 3. What it enjoys? 4. What it needs ? Let these four ques- 
tions be carefully, intelligently, and ably answered by some competent correspondent in each lo- 
cality, concerning each rf the eighteen towns of Esses County. If necessary, I will begin in 
the southern corner with Old Ti. What think you ? 

Under the nR.sT question, the location, extent, natural features resources and adaptation of 
each town ; whether to farming, lumbering, mining, or "manufacturing, would be noticed. The 
work of the town, its part and consequent worth among the activities of the County, in what oc- 
cupation its inhabitants are cniefly engaged, would appear in answer to the seoind question. — 
What the locality enjoys in mUural resources, improvements upon the farm, in the workshops, 
&c., what in material wealth; especially what in schcols, in chuTches, and in general intelligence 
and means of social improvements, and perhaps, even what its natural scenery and historical as- 
sociations, would be accurately detailed hi answer to the third inquiry. What each town needs 
in each and all of these respects also, should be kindly, fully, and fearlessly brought out in an- 
swer to the FOURTH question, the proper reply to which is, perhaps, more difficult as it is more 
important to give than either of the others, but which it will be seen is arrived at logically, and 
therefore the more easily, after answering the other three in order. 

Among the many who would doubtless be eager to answer these questions for their own locality, 
a correspondent could be procured (by a note of solicitation, perhaps from you. Mr. Editor) who 
to his love for his native town would join a thorough acquaintance with it, a spirit of investi- 
gation which should make his letters v.aluable, and the ability to combine clearness, brevity, and 
elegance in his words. What if it should take an article to answer each inquiry, and a year or 
more to go through the county ? What is anything worth that is not done thoroughly and well ? 

What good. then, would this plan do, supposing it to be carried out ably and thoroughly? 

That the Home Sketches, though containing of course, many things already very well known, 
would be as fa-;t as written, and especially when all written and collected, of interest and value, 
I think all will readily see. Of interest, because local, home-touching, and home-made. Of 
vALCK, because a means of promoting acquaintance with the features of the county itself, with 
its communities and occupations, and thus of mutual esteem and attachment, of collecting fact:^ 
of possibly unknown value to the workers and thinkers of the county, of making known the at- 
tractions of the county abroad in a manner agreeable if not of material proDt to its business men, 
but esoocially of exposing the advantages and excellencies as well as the necessities and de- 
flciencics (if each locality, and thus of silently or openly suggesting to the editor, the reader, and 
the towns theinselve-!, the best means of increasing those advantiiges and of supplying those dc- 
licieucies. Tlift List is the main obji-ct, and if attained for the whole county, or even for a part of 
it. or for a few of its Uwling and active minds in any department of its business, would be of a 
value well worth simie little care and effort. 

Can the icii>a be ciinieil out ? Is there matter of interest enough in Essex County to sustain a 
home corre.-ipondence of this kind ? 

The noble county answers. Yes I In what God has done and in what man has done for the lo- 
cality there is enough of iiUere,-t. We are on the highest land of the State. From our mountaino, 
over whose grandeur swi-ep lire and snow alternately, ujion whose sides forests yet unhewn, and 
mines of e.vtent and value vi't unknown, and at whose feet rich v.a'lies, intervals, and rollii g 
plains invite thrifty labor to its rich reward, flow down to the wist tlie rapids of the Racket, to 
the south the gloiy of the Hudson, and to tlnMiorth the cotnmenial highway of Chamiilain. Mt. 
Marcy, the Adiroiidark. and tln^ Mohogan range, rise high and healthily above their surroundings. 
The clouds that sweep up from thr valley of the Hudson and Moh.uvk, from Ontario, from the 
lovel plain of the St. I,'i\vr.ui<-c, and miwards froni the county's watiTv boundnry on the r-fir-i , 
groiuid and g.itlii'i- Hud elim.' about thi'n- siimiiiils until thesoiirci'-; of the laki'S and rivers nr.> 
Qil^-d, The natural seen. >rv. resources ,»nd hi.itoriral association.--- uf the county are nin-lj »\;r 



VII 

ivi.'sed. The farm, tlie forest Bull the mine, also, llic three preat rcsourof and placpo ofpmplny- 
mont of llio country; the factory, the forgo, the merctiaul, the fajmer, the schoolF, llie churrhci-, 
;'nd the social position of each community, whether these be prosperous anrt attractive, or wheth- 
er by unhappy reverses, management or emigration, the ashes be cold in the furnace, llie proUtv! 
of trade and labor in some localities be low, or the influence of school and church be less in cer- 
tain places than the health of community requires, all have, nevertheless, in their history, each of 
them, a voice of thankful interest, and to the worker and thinker for his home, of practical, ur- 
gent, and undeveloped value. 

Four questions, then — will some friend in each of the towns of the coimty answer thorn, and al- 
kiw local interest to be a means of arousing local elTort unto local progress ? 

F. J. C. 

TicoxcERoUA, Aug. 22, 1857. 



(From the Northern Standard of August 19, 185S.) 

TiCO.NDEROGA, N. Y., August 3, 1S58. 

W. Lansing, Very Dear Sir : — It may seem to you that my Home Sketches are expanded to an 
unreasonable length. You have made no complaint, but I shall take the liberty to forestall all 
necessity of your doing so. Justice no loss than good judgment and taste, requires the space 1 
devote to these matters. I found that if I mentioned no man by name, my account of our various 
branches of industry would be very tame indeed. But if I mention one man I must mention two; 
and if two, four : and if four, eight, &o. , to be just. Absolute impartiality requires this, and i 
am willing to secure that good quality at the risk of some criticism. 

Again, good taste has dictated the course I have taken. I think a sketch of a' county should be 
like a county map; of a state, like a state map, general and unspeciflc; but of a towu,"like a town 
map, descending to trace every road and brook, and lot-line and dwelling, It is upon that model 
of taste that I have conducted the Home Sketches, and I think them much more valuable to the 
town and county, if they have any value at all, than any hasty generalizations, llie more spe- 
cific and personal the account, the stronger the interest in it in the town and the vicinity and 
where, as in this case, gexeral interest is not expected, the stronger the local interest the better. 

It has been nearly a year since the Sketches of Ticonderoga were commenced, and to go through 
the county in the same style will require the tenth part of a century ! What if it does ? I had 
rather be connected with a work so thorough and accurate and extensive in its plan that it will 
take ten years to perfect it, than with any hasty fly-sheets, got up without care, without any com- 
parative value, and apt indeed to do much injustice both to the writers and their subjects. ITiero 
is something attractive in the idea of a gazetteer of a county which it requites half a score of years 
to complete. Such a work will have value and be worth the effort of the writer and publisher 
no less than the time of the reader. Of all the County Sketches I have neard of since the plan of 
these was originated, I cannot say that any seem to be on a more thorough plan or one better calcu- 
lated to benefit the localities interested. I believe, at the beginning, the proposition was for some- 
thing thoroughly and ably written, and I should have been faithless to that promise if I had not 
endeavored to be accurate and impartial. You know that I write an advertisement for no man 
having been threatened with two slander-suits for telling the truth, but in order to be just it has 
been necessary to make the treatment full. 

Of course, I expect no one of those who may write hereafter to follow my plan, or to receive 
any suggestions from it, further than they please, but to originate their own method as I have 
been obliged to originate mine. Doubtless a much different and perhaps shorter treatment can bo 
adopted for other towns. But I go for accuracy at any length ; for impartialitv at any cost to tha 
•nd of the cliflpter. 

F. J. C. 



CONTENTS, 



X Page. 

Preface, 3 

Home Sketches of Esses Co. , Propositiou and 

Plan, 6 

CHAPTER I. 

WOAT TlCO.NDEROOA I.S,— N-WCRAL DinSIO.NS, PRO- 
DUCTS, .AND ADV.«TAGES. 

Sect. I. The Plateau, 9 

" 11. ThoValley, 10 

" in. The Mouutains 11 

" IV. The Water Power and its Shores, 14 

CHAPTER BI. 
What Tico.vderoga Does,— Its Past and Prbse.vt. 

Sect. v. Indian Battle Grounds, 17 

" VI. Qiamplain's Battle, 1609, 18 

" \TI. Military Reservations, 20 

" VIII. Hindrances, 21 

" IX. Early Grants, 21 

" X. S. Dealt and his Letters, 1767,.. 23 
" XI. The Old Fort from 1763 to 1776, 26 
" Xn. Settlers after the Revolution,... 27 

JohuKirby, 28 

Judge Hay, 28 

Geo. and Alex. Tremble, 30 

Judge Kellog, 30 

Gideon Shattuck, 30 

Elisha Belden, 31 

Samuel Cook, 31 

Sect. XIII. Good Old Times, 32 

" XIV. Want, AVork, and Wolves, 33 

" XV. Pioneer School Teaching, 36 

" XVI. Religious Reminiscences, 37 

" XVa. Town Records, 39 

" XVni. Lumber Business, 41 

" XIX. Iron Business in Forge and Fur- 
nace, 42 

" XX. Blacksmiths' Business, 43 

" XXI. Mechanics' Business, 45 

" XXII. Mercantile Business -46 

" XXII. Hotels, 55 

" XXrV. Woolen Factories 56 

' ' XXV. Black Lead Business , 57 

" XXVL Tanneries, 59 

" XX Vn. Agriculture, 59 

1. Soil, 59 

2. Crops, 60 

3. Implements, 61 

4. Cattle, 62 

5. Sheep, 63 

6. Horses 64 



Pack 

7. Fair,... , , 68 

Sect. XXVIII Boat Building 70 

XXtX. Legal Profession and Politics,. 71 

XXX. Medical Profession and Health. 74 

XXXI. Temperance,. 76 

XSXn. Education, 81 

1. District Schools, 81 

2. Select Schools, 83 

3. Scholars sent abroad , .... 84 

4. Ticonderoga Academy,.... 84 
Sect. XXXIII. Religion, 92 

1. Universalists,.... 92 

2. Episcopalians, 92 

3. Catholics, 92 

4. Congregatioualists, 93 

5. Baptists, 94 

6. Methodists, 94 

CHAPTER in. 

What Ticonderoga Enjovs,— Historicai, Remlt- 

ISCBSCE3, Scenes of Celebrated Evems, 

Natural Sce.very. 

Sect. XXXrV. Wants ofVisitors and Tourists, 96 

" XXXV. Historical Summary,. 98 

" XXVI Roger's Escape, 1758, 100 

" XXXVn. Abercrombie's Defeat, 1758,. 101 
" XXX Vin Capture by Amherst, 1759. . .104 
" XXXIX. Captureby Ethan Allen, 1775, 106 
" XL. Thacher's Journal at Ticonder- 
oga, 1776-7, 108 

" XLI. Captureby Burgoyne, 1777, ..111 

" XLn. Subsquent History, IIC 

" XLHL Present state of the Ruins, ,..116 
" XLIvr Natural Scenery 122 

CTHAPTER IV. 

Waat Tico.nderoga Needs,— Material, Sooai, 

Moral and Intellectual Improvements. 
Sect. XLV. More Progress equal to that 

of Sister Towns, 126 

" XLVI. More Improvement of Natu- 

ural Advantages, 126 

XLVII. More Men of Enterprise and 

Capital, 127 

XLVni. More Regard for the General 

Welfare, ■ 128 

XLIX. More Zeal for tho Moral and 

Intellectual, 130 

L. More Self-Respcct,- Perse ve- 

rancoand Hope 132 



HOME SKETCHES 

OF 

ESSEX COUNTY 



CHAPTER I, 

WHAT TICONDEROGA IS , 
Natural Divisions, Products, and Advantages. 

A plateau, contaiaing some twenty square miles in the northwest 
part of the town, upon the shore of Champlain ; a valley, some six 
miles long and about one in average width, running centrally south to 
the shores of Horicon* ; the mountains, boldly intruding upon almost half 
the territory, mainly toward the west and north ; and the water power 
with its shores, formed by the outlet of Horicon into lake Champlain, 
and constituting by far the most striking and valuable feature of the 
locality, — these are fottr distmct parts into which that nearly square 
tract of laud in the south east corner ot Essex County, called Ticonde- 
roga, or the place of Sounding Waters, as its Indian name signifies, is 
naturally divided. 

We will visit each of these sections, ( not as hasty and careless sur- 
face-gazers, who take time neither to see nor to appreciate ; but, if 
possible, with that kind of observation which in the commonest objects 
will find ample reward of interest and value,J beginning with 

Sect. I— The Plateau. 

This broad field of clay, sloping from the feet of Miller and Back 
mountains to the lake, forming the north part of the town and in- 
eluding its richest farms, is evidently an ancient alluvial deposit. Once, 
it is supposed that yonder channel where the creek flows and the valley 
to the south were of equal height with this plateau. Then lake Horicon 
and Champlain were united, and the water stood level from here to the 
Green Mountains ! Th^s was long before man occupied the earth ; but 

•Lake George, throughout these sketches, is called by itsoriginal and 
Qnlv appropriate name, and the one which writers now generally adopt, 
1*. Horicon, or the Silver Water. 



10 WHAT TICONDEROaA 18. 

what scenes of magnificent instruction must that age have presented of 
eloquent, awful, and immortal testimony to the Creative Power and 
Goodness which was then fitting up man's future abode, the meadows 
for the husbandman, the hills for the cattle, the valleys for the watter 
courses, with the sounding wheels or the white sails of commerce ! We 
stand where the alluvial earth, sinking to the bed of the waters, lay down 
in level strata for the plow and scythe. As the great waters, in the . 
course of the Creator's ordering, were drained ^way, ( and it seema 
that they must have gone suddenly, j the mountain bowls yet held the 
young lakes and gathered from the clouds the early sources of the 
streams. These, following the call of gravitation onward and downward, 
channeled the earth into valleys. The village yotider stands in a great 
depression scooped by the outlet of Ho'icon, and not a gully in this 
plateau, not a ridge in the sides of tlie valley around the Brothers there, 
but shows full proof of being moulded by flowing streams. The moun- 
tains not so : they are of sterner stuff than to have been washed put by 
water : they are the product of that age, in which, by heaving fire and 
sudden change, earth boiled into bubbles and in that shape cooled. Look 
not their rounded swells like bubbles ? And .^luch they are of the huge 
earth. But along their sides, jutting out under the soil which clothes 
their feet, we find sand-stone and level strata of rocks with ridges of 
the washing wave, far from any flowing water now, marks of that great 
sea which overspread and moulded this region and all its fellows of the 
continent. 

Such, probably, was the geological formation of the town of Sounding 
Waters. 

At present, this plateau lies nearly two hundred feet above the level 
of Champlain. Tbe Lower Village valley is about one hundred, and the 
Trout Brook valley to the south slopes from three hundred to one hun- 
dred and fifty feet above the lake. The plateau we are now leaving js 
in the form of an isocoles triangle, eight miles from Mt. Defiance north 
to Crownpoint line, eight from thence south-west to the Chilson hill 
road, and four from thence east across the base through the village to 
the place of beginning. It must contain,, by these rough measurements, 
between fifteen and twenty square miles. We notice few water courses 
or springs upon this plateau : the stumps in tbe pastures mark the 
graves of the massive pines of the first forest ; but the noblest trees 
now standing are the oak and the sweet-walnut, the latter remarkably 
rich in growth, abundant and fruitful. 

We ride south now to 

Sect. II.— The Valley. 

By those sloping rocks, at the top of what was the old plastered 
school-house hill, opposite the mountain named the Lower Brother, we 
atop. A valley, beautiful as any vale of Switzerland or Italy, lies before 
us, forming the southern portion of the town, between bold mountains 
toward the sunset, the sunrise, and the south. More beautiful than 
Italy we may say, for it is free politically and religiously, and those 
farm houses and yellow harvest-fields tell of a higher cultivation. The 
jt,reate8t breadth of the valley cannot be over a mile ; its length from 
the mountain opposite us, to near the feet of the one which bounds our 
vision to the south-west, cannot be over six. That stream, shining out 



■WHAT TICONDEROGA IS. 11 

in its meanderings along the rich fields beneath the spreading elms of 
the valley, is called Tioui Brook, famous at a former day for trout 
holes that would till a barrel in six hours with only a single expert hook- 
man for conveyance. Ah ! they are gone now, scared by rod and 
spear, some up the little foaming tributaries of this brook to lay spawn 
in the sides of the mountains, others to return no more. But there are 
bills enough in the valley — rocks, too, at the south end. Never mind ! 
it is called Toughertown forithat: but many an oc're here, for richness 
and beauty, would not be exchanged by the owners for any in the world. 

We ride on now. The road is upon the east side close under the 
mountain's edge. Over this mountain to the east are Horicon and its 
outlet. Do you hear the sound of rippling water, if it is spring ? The 
rocks are full of its sources. We cross many a little dashing rill : and 
underneath us, trickling along through the strata of clay or over the 
beds of sand-stone, water finds its way to the bubbliug-out places of the 
springs in the sides of the valley, pure and cool as ever blessed the 
thirsting lips. Not a farm-house lacks water ; not a meadow hardly 
in this whole valley where cattle may not drink, in hottest drouth or 
deepest snow. The pure air of the valley is tainted by no marsh or 
rotting bog ; the waters are all alive. We notice the beech and maple 
us predominating trees, and instead of the sweet walnut alone, that and 
the butternut wave alternately over the carriage road. But-all kinds 
of trees are here. At the edge of this noble grove whose shadowy 
arches, full of the song of birds, yet stand, as in the primeval woods, 
near the centre of the valley next the mountain, we stop and count. 
Here are the elm, maple, butternut, basswood, beech, pine, black-birch, 
white-birch, ash, iron-wood, oak, hemlock, red cedar, walnut, poplar, 
planted by no mortal hand, within the circle of a dozen rods ! 

And along the edges of this mountain, too, a»e some remarkable 
traces of the power of waters, whose flowing has long since ceased. 
Just back yonder from this grove, worn into the solid rock whose per- 
pendicular bulk foots the ledge above that orchard. Is a cavity five feet 
broad and fourteen feet deep, round and smooth as a cauldron cast at the 
furnace! The common explanation is that the Indians made it : but 
the man of science would regard it as the couch of some gouging rub- 
ble-stone, ( for long ages it must have been, as rocks wear now,) set in 
motion, if not by a river pouring down from above, which seems scarcely 
probable, then by the eddies of some swift-moving torrent that coasted 
along the mountains. On both sides of the mountain are many like 
cavities, though none so large, confirming by their position and appeal - 
ance, this theory. 

What hear we, as we stand under the waples, by these cavities ? 
With the song of bird, the chip of squirrel, the breathing of pines, the 
dash of waterfall, come the bleating of sheep from the mountain pas- 
ture, and the lowing of cattle from the valley. We count the lambs 
upon the heights — the farm-houses below. This is the valley of good 
farmers, who keep sheep and cattle and are happy. 

To the mountains with their forests and mines, to the water-power 
and its shores we have yet to go, ere our first question is answered. 

Sect. III.— The Mountains. 
Between the cliffs of Horicon and the shores of Champlain, the 



J12 WHAT TICONDEROGA IS. 

pritnitive forest seems to have been a dense Jabyrintb, remarkably cora- 
bining the fearful and the grand. Under its arches for ages ran the 
Jndian war-path, and for a century the French and English portage 
between the lakes : but Dieskau was bewildered in it, the French rangers 
from fort Carillon missed their way, and the gallant Howe was lost and 
shot there, at the head of his sixteen thousand. The Indian under- 
stood its intricacies : the white man destroyed them. Before the saw- 
gates of the French, erected while they built their fort ; before the axes 
of gathering woodsmen, cutting down piles to be burnt for potashes, 
then selling promptly at high prices in the Canadian market, or felling 
massive spars to be rafted to Quebec for the British navy ; before the 
multiplied gangways of the increasing lumber trade ; before the de- 
xnands of progressive settlement, agriculture and commerce, and latterly 
before the sweeping mountain fires, have perished the primitive spruce 
and cedar, ash and hemlock, white grained oak and Norway prne. Tim- 
ber has gone to all quarters and money to the laborer's hand : but th« 
valleys and mountains are substantially stripped of their first garments. 

In the second growth, by the usual but curious law, soft wood has 
generally taken the place of hard and hard of soft — poplar where the 
oaks stood, beech and maple where the pines grew. The limits of the 
town hardly provide lumber enough for home use ; but the low lands 
yet furnish cedar and agh enough for the rails of fences ; the hill sides 
hard wood enough for the cheerful winter fire ; and the valleys walnuts 
and butternuts enough to call for,th bands of rejoicing children, at the 
first frosts of Autumn. 

Upon the mountains, on either side of Trout Brook valley, until the 
demantling of the primitive forest had far progressed, the deer used to 
find their winter residence. Horicon, the silver water, was near ; and 
by fives, or twenties, or fifties, they lay herded under the shelter of the 
evergreens west of Tremble and Paron mountains or behind the summits 
of the Brothers or the Old Fort. Despite the fierce howling of wolves 
and the rifles of the settlers, who were often obliged to make venison 
their principal meal, " the .deer, fifty years ago," says an aged pioneer, 
" were more abundant in our fields than sheep." The clearing up has 
driven them farther back to yard under the arches of evergreen in 
Sohroon and around Brant Lake : bat they make these mountains their 
summer residence. Peaceaoly they can wander here, for they are not 
hunted as farther baek. Often the hayfield or the l.arvest is enlivened 
by a deer crossing the valli;y : through the pastures, where they are 
sometimes seen feeding with the cattle, and even through the gardens 
more than ouco a summer do they yet follow their runway to the waters 
of Horicon. Learned Rich, the old hunter, whose father Nathaniel 
planted the first orchard of the valley near the time of the revolution, 
shot many a buck and doe without leaving his door-yard. A few strag- 
gling bears, taking refuge like the deer from hounds and bullets, and 
seldom seen save in their deeds where now and then the oarcass of a 
lamb or the lessened number of the mountain herd mark their ravages, 
complete the list of the larger wild game. Rattlesnakes, when the first 
settlers of the town came, were, by their testimony, " literally as 
thick as toads." They infested barns and gardens, and were even 
found upon the pantry shelves behind the dishes and between the logs 
of bed-rpom walls ! This dangerous reptile is now rarely see;n, save '^^ 



WHAT TICONDEROGA 13. IS 

the famous Rattlesnake den near Roger's Rock. Foises and muskrats 
abound, and in pursuit of the Ibrmer, during the late fall months and 
at the fir.st full of snow, the mountain sides are vocal with the bark of 
eager hounds. 

The rich soil of the mountain uplands, the pure springs, the rugged 
Bleeps, the cool shadows of green browse and overgreeii, afford to nu- 
merous flocks an abundant and healthy pasturage, pf^culiarly adapted to 
their natural habits. The sheep remain all summer upon the hills 
without care, and often the mountain s-ides are greener than the valleys. 
For upon the mountains walk the showers and storms. In the eddies 
and peculiar currents of the atmosphere, formed by the gorges, ravines, 
and summits of ths elevations, the clouds are often carried along the 
mountain-tops, while the valleys, save in the swollen brooks, recieve 
but little of the shower. The scenery along these pathways of storms 
is sometimes fearful and imposing beyond description. The various 
changes of the sky and of the aspect of the landscape, produced by 
changes of the atmosphere, seem, as bounded by these bold summits, 
invested with rare and exceeding beauty. Every citizen of Ticonde- 
roga may witness, from his own door, sky and mountain scenery bold 
and beautiful enough to awaken all, from priest to plough-man, to 
poetry and painting. 

But forest, and game, and pasturage, and showers, and grandeur, 
and beauty, are not the only products of these rocky eminences. 

Iron and black-lead ore are abundant and probably cxliaustless. The 
iron ore is injuriously mixed, in certain localities, with sulphur ; but the 
testimony of many competent examiners is not wanting to assert the 
fact of valuable deposits in the north and west of the town. The pro- 
gress of science, enterprise, and above all the developing ot the resour- 
ces of the town and county, will reveal a value in these veins not yet 
anticipated. 

The minerals of Roger's Rock, at tiie south of the town, afford rare 
attractions to the naturalist Tons of augite, plumbago, feldspar, and 
titanium, first discovered here, the four combined in one mass, have 
been taken from this place to adorn cabinets in all parts of the world. 
Massive garnet, red, yellow, black and green coccalite, sphene, &o., are 
found in specimens of rare beauty. 

This town seems to be the peculiar district of graphite or black-lead. 
In 1852, 61,000 pounds were manufactured at the works of W. A. G. 
Arthur, Esq. During the past year, ( 1857 ), about a hundred tons 
have been raised and manufactured by Mr. C. P. Ives, in whose works 
the purity of the ore and the skill and industry displayed in its manu- 
facture combine to produce an article unsurpassed in quality and value. 
The deposits upon the premises of these gentlemen alone are sufficient 
to make the manufacture susceptible of any expansion the demand will 
justify. Deep seains of one or two feet in width spread over a great 
extent between walls of quartz or trap rock. Enormous specimenp of 
great beauty and purity taken from these mines ; a peculiar fitness for 
the making of crucibles existing in the freeness of portions of the ma- 
terial from lime ; the extent and value of the deposit, pronounce it, as 
well as other veins abounding in the same district which have been par- 
tially worked, of the greatest and most permanent value among th» 
natural resourcee of the mountains. 



14 WHAT TICONDEROGA IS. 

Sect. IV.— The Water Power and its Shores. 

Cheonderoga, of che Indians, is Horicou's ouflet, that is, the Sound-- 
ing Waters the outlet of the Silver Water. The ' noi?e-chiH<e ' ct the- 
brawling falls ia this passage between the lakes gave to the town its sig- 
nificaut and beautiful name. And the commerce-chinie of sounding' 
■wheels which should be heai'd along this most remarkable hydraulic- 
power, might give to the town, now scarce known abroad save in histor}', 
a name in the business world, as a worker in wood and iron, a builder 
of forges and factories, a citv of the first rank and privilege in moderC' 
manufactures. How thus privileged, why thus neglected, and where- 
tore thus full of promise, let us notice. 

The grand reservoir is the lake. Lying over three hundred feet 
above tide water, lake Horicon drains an era of nearly three hundred 
square miles. As these waters emerge from the vast mountain bowl, 
within which they lie with scarce any preeeptible current, their motion 
quickens in rapids at the head of the outlet. The quiet ripples gird up 
their loins for a race. Along the meadow-shores, for half a mile, the 
broad stream gurgles gleefully to the bridge of the Upper Village. 
Entering here between rocky banks it approaches the edge of the upper 
falls and takes the leap. A foamiiig fataract now — broken, bounding 
and booming adown the cliffs. The Siiver Water has become the 
Sounding Water. Wheeling and rolling, dashing and crashing, raging 
and pouring, biting and beating in vain its fetters of rock, the flood 
descends one hundred and two feet to the foot of the Upper 
Falls. The voice of the waters is heard along the valleys and moun- 
tains. A slight turn heaves the volume some distance between a high 
rocky bank surmounted by a thick strata of clay upon the one side and 
the road upon the other, descending eleven feet to split-rock, and thence, 
foaming over stones and eddying around islands of drift wood, fourteen 
ieet more to its confluence with Trout Brook. This spot, picteresque 
and secluded, is central between the Upper and Lower Village. The 
quiet and muddy brook from the rich soil of its flats, contrasts oddly 
■with the creek of clear lake water, whose volume it swells. The broad 
and shallow stream, hastening on between the cedars and pines on the 
slope of the east bank, and the sweet-walnuts waving over the pleasant 
path through the green pasture on the west, foaming around boulders 
that bathe in the currents, eddying past jutting rocks that tempt the 
abutments of dams, growing wild and gleeful as it dances over its bed 
of stones, makes a descent of seventeen feet to the first bridge of the 
Lower Tillage. Its swift currents dividing here, are mercifully received 
into a solid channel formed by the sloping strata of the out-cropping 
sand-stone, along which it saws and gnaws in its fearful and romantic 
descent of forty- four feet, past a dozen water lots, beneath the high 
cedar-crowned bank in the rear of the Lower Village, to its slant and 
sounding plunge into the basin at the foot of the rapids, and thence, 
foaming past rocks and dams, under the lower bridge to spread out for 
a moment's rest in the mill-pond at the head of the lower falls. A 
widening here pours the volume in a steady sheet nearly two hundred 
feet in length, — thrown strongest, however, by central obstructions, 
toward either bank, — thirty feet over and adown a nearly perpendicular 
ledge of stratified rocks, on whose centre and extremities firm founda- 



WHAT TICONDEROGA IS. 15 

tion for building is found, to the foot of the lower fall?. Here tbe 
descent ends. From the foot of these falls a broad and navigable creek, 
flowino' between high banks of classic ground, empties the waters into 
the. turbid currents of Champlain, beneath the ramparts of Ticondeioga. 
The grey ruin? look sad as the Silver Water becomes the Muddy Wa- 
ter ; but the white sails on the lake smile at this invaluable door-way 
of commercial intercourse. The total descent of the outlet we have 
sketched is 220 feet, the distance a little over three miles. 

It is well to review some of the advantages of the remarkable water- 
power thus formed, which, in some particulars at least, is without any 
known parallel in the world. 

An accurate survey of the locality gives the average breadth of tho 
channel at the bridge of the Upper Village as 48 feet, its depth 4.97 
feet, its superficial velocity 2.26 feet per second, which data, with the 
addition of a small stream not embraced in this measurement, afford a 
volume of 446.31 cubic feet per second. From the peculiarity of its 
sources and po.«itioii the grand reservoir is very uniform in its supply. 
Mountain brooks, rising in the interior at large springs, and draining a 
hilly and well-wooded eountry ; innumerable springs boiling up in the 
bottom of the lake ; with the showers which the lofty summits attract, 
are the eshaustJess and perennial feeders of this mountain basin. The 
raifliraum supply may be safely stated at 400 cubic feet per second ; but 
in calculating the available capacity of the water-power one-fourth has 
been thrown off to allow for evaporation, filtration and wastage, making 
300 cubic feet per second. In the whole av&ilable fall of 126 feet to 
Trout Brook it is calculated that this volume of water is sufficient to 
drive 290.000 spindles, including looms and preparations. By diffusing 
the water laterally, as has been proposed, through canals arranged with 
basins, falls, and water-lots upon either side of the natural channel^ 
different classes o{ manufaQtories might find appropriate locations, and 
use the water again and again with the most perfect convenience and 
economy. By locating the summit levels two feet below the lowest 
level of the lake, a vast reservoir, calculated, from the dimensions of 
the lake, to be equal to 3,600,000,000 of cubic feet would be at com- 
mand, and render the supply certain during the dry season. Very little 
art would be required to bring water to wheels in «very building were 
-every foot of the banks eeeupied from the upper to tho lower falls. The 
natural slopes of the ground, the quarries of finest building stone found 
upon almost every lot, the fiprings at the base of the hills which at 
trifling expense can be conveyed to every door, are amoDg the admirable 
adaptations of this locality to manTjifacturing purposes. 

Are coal and ore wanted .' Forests seventy miles long upon the 
borders of the Silver Water spread over its mountains on either side, 
and, allowing them to renew their growth once in thirty years, would 
forever supply wood and coal in abundance, which, through the lake 
and its outlet, could be landed at the doors of the furnaces. The 
mountains of the town are supposed to be as rich in iron ore as they 
are known to be in deposits of black-lead : also lake Champlain furnishes 
easy access to the vast iron-districts along its western shore. Are safety 
and convenience required ? The remarkable purity of the water fits 
it for the most delicate uses of printing, dyeing, or bleaching establish- 
ments. Its warmth also, from the great depth of the waters of Horicon 



16 WHAT TICONCEROGA IS, 

and the rapidity 0? the current, prtrvents absolutely every obstruction of 
ice to the wheel. And let those capitalists who annually lose ihousanda 
by the freshets which devastate the banks of'neaily every other river in 
America, mark that no freshet ever occurs upon this stream, the heav- 
iest spring rains and melting snow never raising the water over four 
feet. Is facility ot transportation desired.' From the upper falls 
there is but one mile of land transportation to the navigable waters of 
Champlaiu, and at the Lower Village, by a natural harmony of arrange- 
ment unsurpassed and invaluable, vea?els can conje close up under the 
mills and load and unload at the very edge of the falls. Were the 
docks, which commerce would call into existence, constructed, the vol- 
ume of water thrown into a narrow space, would channel the slight 
shallows of the creek, until water-crait of the largest burthen could lie 
beam to beam with flouring mills, factories and forgcf? of the town of 
Sounding Waters. The highway of -jommeree through lake Cbamplain 
to the Canadas, or by canals to New York or the West and all inter- 
mediate places, for manufactured articles to go out and raw materials to 
come in, crowns the high privileges which nature has bestowed upon 
this remarkable locality. 

The Plight Hon. Edward Ellice. of Jlngland, was the owner, and hie 
fcsirs are the tilled possessors, of the larger part of this water-power 
and its shores. Through the uncertain and exacting terms which either 
their indifference, or ignorance, or mistaken policy, or, as is much more 
probable, the cupidity of their agents, has imposed, every purpose of 
adequate occupation of these advantages has been repelled. Half a 
score of saw-mills, it is true, have existed ; and, during the activity of 
the lumber trade, conducted, under the efficient control of Joseph 
Weed, Esq., a large business with energy and prosperity. But they 
were held upon precarious titles, and now the dilapidated village, with 
two or three irregularly run mills, upon the lease land of Alexandria, 
which should have been a city, are the sad proofs of the blight of foreign 
ownership. The Lower Village, of some eight hundred inhabitants, 
with a small but thriving home business, is all that man has done to 
occupy nature. The company who founded Lowell came to Ticonderoga 
and were repelled from purchase by the conditions of sale : several 
capitalists have been repelled or failed in their purposes at different in- 
tervals. No title to the hind could be procured at any satisfactory 
terms. Reservations of all minerals or ores found upon the lots sold, 
with means of access thereto, were among the restrictions uofavorable 
and odious to purchasers. And tlius years have passed, other towns 
far less privileged have become cities, the Sounding Waters have run 
■by year after year, until young men's heads have become grey with 
waiting, who earnestly hopi-d, with all the surrounding neighborhoods, 
to see these high bounties of their town converted into elements of 
prosperity and wealth. 

Surely the time of developement will come : fOr nothing <if such lis- 
ting and unsurpassed value can be made in vain. To-day we cannot 
write or foresee its history ; but we hereby greet with joy the man who 
fhall hereafter record it, inasmuch as such record shall surely be made. 
If it shall begin through the fair and roaponuLle offer now made with bo' 
much prospect of favorable results by Mr. G. Parish, a rejative of Mr. 
£ilic9 and a millionaire of Ogdensbargh, to sell this valuable property 



WHAT TICONDEROGA DOES. 17 

" on reasonable terms, in Jots to suit purchasers, with no restrictions or 
reservations," we shall rejoice. After such offers we could perhaps ex- 
honerate the foreign owners from a part of their responsibility for the 
backwardness of our manufacturing interests ; but the opening of the 
door comes long after those most earnest for entrance have departed. 
But the door will now continue open, and with the permanent advanta- 
ges stated above, we should be unmindful of the public wish, did we 
not most earnestly extend to capitalists everywhere, the standing invita- 
tion of our citizens : Come, occupy, and prosper. 

A locality offering the most extended, complete, harmonious, and 
remarkable natural advantages for a manufacturing city ; in agricultural 
facilities, rich, varied and improvable; in commercial position, upon the 
great thoroughfare ; in forests, once rich but now supplying home wants; 
in mines, promising but undeveloped save in its quarries and in its vast 
deposits of black-lead ; in climate, healthy, serene, and beautiful ; in 
natural scenery and historical associations, classic ground for the poet, 
the patriot and the historian — such is Ticondoroga in its natural attract- 
ions, resources and adaptations. 

We notice next what its inhabitants have done. 

»««>« 



/ 



CHAPTER II. 



WHAT TICONDEROGA DOES-Its Past and Present. 



Antecedents explain and emphasize consequents, A brief sketch of 
the past of thiiS town is needed to illustrate its present. Upon their 
own merits j too, these reminiscences of early days, we trust, will bo 
valued, not only as matters of interest by restricted local circles, but 
by all as a meed of remembrance well due to the hardy pioneers, and 
especially by the curious thinker as faithful and important illustrations 
of early social states, of ancestral virtues and vices, occupations and 
privileges, discouragements and rewards, whence the much-needed les- 
sons may be derived, of gratitude and wisdom for the present, and, for 
the future of hope and action. 

Sect, v.— Indian Battle Grounds. 

The aboriginal possessors of the continent had few dwellings between 
Horicon and Champlain. Upon these rugged mountain peaks, through 
arching forests, rocky pass and dark ravine, was spread the terror of civil 
butchery, of wily hate, of bloody revenge. It was the place where 
two great waves of Indian warfare met, struggled, sank, and left their 
ruins. Few sounds, save of the warwhoop and of wild bird and beast ; 
few movements, save of human or brute forms, crouching, contending, 
retreating or simply passing by, disturbed the western shore of Cham- 
plain in its earliest ruggedness and beauty. " These parts though 
agreeable," writes Samuel Champlain, in his journal of 1609, as ho 
glided along the eastern shore of our County, " are not inhabited by 
any Indians, in consequence of their wars." Upon the eastern shore 
of the lake, however, toward the Green Mountains, the Iroquois, the 



18 WHAT TICONDEROGA DOES. 

Huvons assurcil him, bad many villages, wliich embraced "beautiful 
valleys and fields fertile in corn, with an infinitude of other fruits." — 
But along its gloomy and fearful western borders, few vestiges of Indi- 
an dwellings have been discovered. Weapons of war, however, some 
of early but most of late date, are disturbed by the spade and plow- 
share with painfully significant frequency. Arrows from six inches to 
half-an-inch in length of the most perfect finish; mortars, pestles, chiz- 
els and gouges turned with the most surprising ingenuity ; long knives 
of stone shaped to a point and thickened at the back for strength ; tom- 
ahawks of varied sizes and states of preservation ; Indian tobacco boxes, 
as they are called, curiously hollowed out of rounded stone ; stray spe- 
cimens of pottery, of great hardness, plowed up on the plateau at the 
north part of the town, along the creek, the flats of Trout Brook, and 
especially near the Bapids at the head of Horicon's outlet where the 
early Carrying Place between the waters began, together with the bul- 
lets, gun trapnings, knives^ buckles, buttons, coins and other traces of 
a later race, bear sad, eloquent and undeniable testimony to the history 
of savage passion, ingenuity, struggling and extermination, and also of 
pioneer discoveries, dangers, and sacrifices. 

From the fact that lake Champlain afi^orded an avenue and facility to 
the reciprocal attacks of Huron and Iroquois, it probably received its 
appropriate and impressive name, " Caniaderi-guarante," i. e. " The 
lake that is the gate of the country." A remarkable description of the 
war-path through Ticonderoga occurs in the programme of the route 
given to Champlain and his companions, by the party of some sixty 
Hurons and Algonquins with whose hostile expedition against a remote 
tribe of the Iroquois he joined himficlt as an ally and companion in that 
bold and characteristic expedition in which he discovered the lake. — 
After traversing the lake now bearing his name, they informed Cham- 
plain that they '" must pa55 J?/ a %DaUr-fail and thence enter another 
lake three or four leagues long, and having arrived at its head, there 
were four leagues overland to be travelled to pass to a river which fiows 
toward the coast of the Almouchiquois." A precise description of the 
route from Lake Champlain by the Sounding Waters and Lake Horicon 
lo the Hudson, save in the distances — a little shotrened, perhaps, not 
to discourage Champlain. 

Sect- Vl.-Cliamplain's Battle, 1609. 

As this party of savage warriors and the three Europeans — the first 
who evor entered this magnificent Northern gateway — coursed along the 
western shore of the lake, many incidents occurred of which the record 
in Champlain's journal, preserved now in the Documentary History of 
the State, possesses great value and the deepest interest. The simple 
clear and descriptive language of Champlain has given us a graphic and 
unicjue pictxu'e of the main incident of his voyage, which, occurring as 
it did upon the soil of this town, eleven years before the Mayflower 
sought the shores of New England, and being a piece of history of gen- 
eral interest not generally known, it is a duty and pleasure to insert 
entire : from Doct. History, Vol. 3. p. 5. 

" Now on coming within about two or three days journey of the enemy's quar- 
ters, wo travelled (mly by night and rested by diiy. Nevertheless, they never 
omitted their usual superstitions to ascertain whether their enterprise would be 
successful, and often asked me Avhethcr I had dreamed and seen their enemies. 



WHAT TICONDEROGA DOES. 19 

" At nightfall we embarked in oiu- Cauoes to continue our journey, ami as v/e 
advanced very softly and noiselessly, we encountered a war party of Irocjuois, on 
tlie twenty-ninth day of the month, about ten o'cdock at night, at the point of a 
cape which juts into the Lake on the West side. [From this language, from the 
distinct designation of the place on Champlain's map. from the fact afterwards 
stated that the battle was fought in 43 degrees some minutes latitude, it iscci-tain 
that tlie conflict took place between lake Horiccn and Crownpoint, and probably 
upon the promontory occupied by the Old Fort.] They and wo began to shout, 
each seizing his arms. We withdrew towards the water and the Iroquois repaired 
on shore, and arranged all tlieir canoes, the one beside the other, and began to 
hew down trees with villanous axes, which they sometimes get in war, and others 
of stone, and fortified themselves very securely. Our party, likewise, kept their 
canoes arranged the one along side of the other, tied to poles so as not to run 
adrift, in order to fight altogether should need be. We were on the water about 
an arrow shot from their barricades. 

" When they were armed;;and in order, they sent two cauoes from the fleet to 
know if their enemies wished to fight, who answered they desired nothing else ; 
but that just tftn there was not much light, and that we must wait for day 
to distinguish each other, and that they would give us battle at sunrise. This 
■was agreed to by our party. Meanwhile the whole night was spent in dancing 
and singing, as well on one side as on the other, mingled with an infinitude of in- 
sults and other taunts, such as the little courage they had ; how powerless their 
resistance against their arms, and that when day would break they should expe- 
rience this to their ruin. Ours, likewise, did not foil in repartee; telling them 
they should witness the effects of arms they had never seen before ; and a multi- 
tude of other speeches, such as is usual at the siege of a town. 

" After the one and the other had sung, danced and parliamented enough, dny 
broke. My companions and 1 were always concealed, for fear the enemy should 
see ms in preparing our arms the best we could, being however separated, each 
in one of the canoes of the savage Montaquars, After being equipped with 
light armor we took each an arquebus and went ashore. I saw the enemy leave 
their barricade ; they were about two hundred men, of strong and robust appear- 
ance, who were coming slowly towards us, with a gravity and assurance which 
greatly pleased me, led on by their chiefs. Our's were marching in similar order, 
and told me that those who bore three lofty plumes were the chiefs, and that 
there were btit these three and they were to be recognized by those plumes, 
which were considerably larger than those of their companions, and tliat 1 must 
do all I could to kill them. I promised to do what I could, and that I was very 
sorry they could not clearly understand me, so as to give them the order and plan 
of attacking their enemies, as we ehoidd indubitably defeat them all, but there 
was no help for that ; that I was very glad to encoitrage them and to manifest 
to them my good-will when we should be engaged. 

" The moment we lauded they began to run about two hundred paces toward 
their enemies who stood firm, and had not yet perceived my companions, who 
went into the bush with some savages. Our's commenced calling me in a loud 
voice, and making way for me opened in two, and placed me at their head, march- 
ing about 20 paces in advance uutill wasM'ithin thirty paces of the enemy. The 
moment they saw me they halted, gazing at me andl at them. AVhen I saw them 
preparing to shoot at us, I raised my arquebus, and aiming directly at one of the 
three Chiefs, two of them fell to the ground by this shot one of tlieir companions 
received a wound of which he died afterwards. I had put four balls m my arqu- 
ebus. Our's on witnessing a shot so favorable for them, set up such tremendous 
shouts that thunder could not have been heard; and yet, there was no lack of 
arrows on one side and the other. The Iroquois were greatly astonished seeing 
two men killed so instantaneously, notwithstanding they were provided with 
arrow-proof armour, woven of cotton thread and wood ; this frightened thcni 
very much. Whilst I was reloading, one of my companions in the bush, fired a 
shot, whicli so astonished them anew seeing their chiefs slain, that they lost 
courage, took to flight and abandoned their fort, hiding themselves in the depths 
of the forest, whither pursuing them, I killed some others. Our savages also 
killed several of them and took ten or twelve jjrisoners. Tlic rest carried off tho 
wounded. Fifteen or sixteen of oua'S were wounded by arrows ; they were promptly 
cured. 

" After having gained the victory they amused themselves plundering Indian 
corn and meal from the enemy; also their arms which they had thrown awny to 



20 WHAT TICONDEROGA DOES. 

run the better. And having feasted, danced and sung, we returned, three hours 
tiftorward, ■with the prisoners. 

" The place •\\here the battle was fought is in 43 degrees some minutes latti- 
tude, and I named it lake Champlain." 

Such was the opening of the sanguinary conflicts yet to follow upon 
the same promontory. It has beau suggested that the fact that thi.s 
first shedding of Aboriginal blood by the Christian invader occurred 
upon the very soil which in another age witnessed the bloody and fruit- 
less contests of the two greatest powers of Christendom for the posses- 
sion of the same territory, which neither was permitted permanently to 
enjoy, — was & singular coincidence and possibly significant of the pres- 
ence and retribution of an overruling Providence. This thought at- 
tracts by its solemnity, yet its foundation is not sure. To Champlain 
there was no other way of entering the country safely than as the ally 
of some savage tribe. And that battles were afterwarj^ iought upon 
that same cape is not miraculous since its position between two waters 
that were gates to the country, necessitated the long line of struggles 
for its possession. The truth is, by its position and surroundings, God 
created Ticonderoga historic ground. 

But passing by, for the present, those warlike reminiscences of th© 
French and Indian War of the Revolution, well known and better 
sought in general history, it is fit that we should notice somewhat par- 
ticularly the almost lost and obscured, yet none the less important and 
interesting facts, pertaining to the early settlement, the political and 
social organization of Ticonderoga. 

Sect. VII.— Military Reservations. 

Irons were brought from England to Ticonderoga for the construction 
of the Old King's saw-mill, soon after the close of the French and In- 
dian War in 1763. It seems that the French had built a saw-mill some 
seven years previous, which had been destroyed in the war. The line 
of three forts, commanding the passage from the head of Horicon to 
Crownpoint, depended upon this mill for planks and timber, as did also the 
flotillas and batteaux of the two lakes for additions and repairs. For 
the location of this mill, land was reserved by the Crown, beginning, 
according to the old deeds, " one chain above the High Falls," at Ti- 
conderoga, which fixes the locality, as this land was all upon the south 
side, at the south end of the lower falls. Mr. Deall's mills, constructed 
some years later, seem to have stood on the opposite side of this water- 
power. The reservation of crownland extended along the south shore 
of the creek to the long bridge, ruins of which are still apparent, where 
the Military Road from Crownpoint and Ticonderoga to Fort George 
crossed the outlet of Horicon. To this bridge, boats from Champlain 
came by the creek, and here began the carryiag-place between the 
waters. This important spot lies exposed immediatly under the old 
French lines on the east, Mt. Hope on the west and Mt. Defiance^ on 
the south. A broad road, most of which is now on the public high- 
way, was cut through the forest from this bridge one mile to the head 
of the Rapids at the place of embarkation on the eastern shore of the 
Silver Water. Here fifteen acres of land were reserved by the Crown 
for the erection of the Block House, used as a place of storage, a hotel, 
a dwelling-house, and as a place of winter (juarters and repairs for the 
ferry-boats of the lake So much of the territory of Ticonderoga was 
used for military purposes, and really belonged to the three forts. 



WHAT TICONDEROGA UOES. 21 

After the Revolution, however, General Schuyler, being appointed 
by the colonial Legislature to make a report of all the lands reserved 
ior military purposes in the state, artfully left out these patches along 
the creek and at the Rapids from his general Report ; but presented 
them as unlocated lands, left out of all deeds and grants, and belonging 
to no one. He therefore influenced the Land Office, of which he was 
a member, to make him a special grant of them, by which he claimed 
the territory of the King's saw-mill, the Military Road, the reservation 
at the landing, and moreover all the land under the creek, which waa 
the most valuable part of his acquisition. 

Sect. VIII.— Hindrances. 

But the valley of Champlain, covered with conflicting French and 
English titles, swept by the armies of three nations, and even after its 
separation from New France left as a territory of uncertain destiny, 
oS'ered to the emigrant, notwithstanding the attractions of its forests, 
soil, game, and mines, glowingly described by officers and men who had 
explored it in the wars, but feeble allurements, previous to the year 
1762. The ceding of Canada to England by the treaty of this year 
and the proclamation of the King of Great Britain, issued in October 
of the following year, authorizing the colonial governors to issue grants 
of land on either side of Champlain, opened the way to purchase, emi- 
gration and improvement, and gave new impulse to the enterprise of 
capitalists and pioneers. Large grants, as a return for services in Ca- 
nadian campaigns, were generously made to the reduced British soldiers 
and officers. 

Sect. IX.— Early Grants- 

Among these officers John Stoughton, Richard Killet, and John 
Kennedy, secured possessions " in the county of Albany in the province 
of New York between Ticonderoga and Crownpoint," by grants given 
by the King "("in pursuance of Our Royal Proclamation of the 
Seventh Day of October, in the Third Year of Our Reign,) at Our 
Fort, in Our City of New York," Aug. 7, 1764. These old parch- 
ment letters ^patent of " George the Third, by the Grace of God, of 
Great Brittain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c.," 
fiom which the following facts are mainly token, are interesting relics — 
browned, blackened and mouldy with moisture, ink and time, and bear- 
ing pendent from their greasy borders the great wax seal of the province 
of New York stamped with the arms of Great Brittain and figures of 
Aborigones kneeling to the King with furs and game, the whole as 
sizeable as a common turnip or a watchmaker's sign. " x\ll mines of 
Gold and Silver, and also all White or other Sort of Pine Trees fit for 
Masts of the Growth of Twenty-four Inches Diameter and upwards, at 
Twelve Inches from the Earth," were reserved unto the King and his 
successors forever. The grants were to be held for ten years "in free 
and common Socage, exempt from all Quit Rent, and after the expi- 
ration of the said Ten Years, then Yielding, Rendering and Paying 
therefor yearly, for every year thereafter, unto Us, our Heirs and Suc- 
cessors, at our Custom House in Our City of New York, unto Our or 
their Collector, or ^Receiver General there for the Time being, on the 
Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, commonly 



iiiJ WHAT TICONDEROGA DOES. 

•called Lady Day, the yearly Rent of Two Shillings and Six-pence, 
Sterling, for each and every hundred Acres' of the above granted 
Lands." To " settle as many Families on the Tract of Land as shall 
amount to one Family for every Thousand Acres thereof ;" " to plant 
and effectually cultivate at the least Three Acres for every Fifty Acres 
of such of the hereby granted Lands as are capable of Cultivation," 
both improvements to be made " within Three Years" from the date of 
the grant ; to abstain from injuring any of the reserved pine-trees with- 
out royal license ; to register the grant at the Secretary's office and 
docquet the same at the Auditor's office in New York, were conditions 
*' provided always^," which, if unpreformed, annulled the grant. A 
line circling the Fort at a distance of fifteen hundred yards from its 
bastions embraced the military reservation for the fortress, and is the 
general starting point in the old deeds, at its intersections with the 
creek and lake, for all the boundaries of the neighboring grants. 

The land of Lt. John Stoughion, as appears from the old maps of 
the grant, lay in the general form of a trapezium bounded by straight 
lines, of which the four corners may be roughly stated as the old block- 
house on Mt. Defiance, the White Hocks near Gr. Wicker's, John Stone's 
toward lioger's iiock, and Bugby's point, across the lake. It lay thus 
wedged between the mountains, the butt north, and extending from the 
lower village to Lake lioricon on both sides of the creek, without inclu- 
ding, however, according to Gren. Schuyler's claim above mentioned, 
the land under it. The sudden death of Lt. Stoughton by drowning in 
Lake Horicon, left this property to "Mrs. Stoughton and child," as 
appears by Samuel Deall's letters, without any will and in considerable 
legal confusion. By purchase from the hands of this child, after she 
had become the wife of Crov. Wolcott of Connecticut, the title of the 
Rt. Hon Edward Ellice, the present owner of the larger part of the 
land, was procured. Of the legitimacy and consequent heirship of 
this child grave doubts have been entertained and no satisfactory proof, 
it is believed, as yet brought to view. Whether or not " Mrs, Stough- 
ton " was the wife or mistress of the British Lieutenant, and the child 
born under marriage or not, are questions upon which the validity of 
the title now held over the most important lands of Tieondftroga, de- 
pends. Nothing positive either way has been established a.<< yet by tho 
researches of the writer, except the important position of aflJ'airs above 
stated, which he brings thus clearly to view in the hope that others, 
wherever situated, having information and better opportunities of in- 
quiry, will aid in deciding a question so vital to the interests of the town, 
with honesty and justice to all concerned. 

The grant to Roger Kellet, bearing date of Aug. 7, 1764, is thus 
bounded: " On the west side of the River or Waters which empty 
out of Lake George into Lake Champlaiu, Begiiraing at the North 
West Corner of a Tract of Land lately granted to Lieutenant John 
Stoughton, and runs thence North nine degrees forty-five minutes East, 
one hundred and twenty-five Chains ; then north seventy-seven 
dcg. thirty minutes East, two hundred and thirty-seven Chains to 
the aforesaid River or Waters. Then up the stream thereof as its 
runs to the North East corner of the Tract lately returned for Lieu- 
tenant John Kennedy ; then along the line of his Tract, Nqrth eighty 
degrees West, one hundred and forty Chaias, and South nine degrees 



WHAT TICONDEROGA DOES. 23 

and forty-five minutes West one hundred and fifty-four Chains to tlie 
North side of the aforesaid lliver or Waters ; then up along the said 
North side of the aforementioned River or AVaters as they run to the 
above mentioned tract granted to Lieutenant John Stoughton ; And 
then, along his line, North fifty-three degrees and forty Minutes West, 
seventy-one Chains to the place where this Tract began ; Except as 
much of the said lands as shall be sufficient for a Public Road, of the 
Breadth of Sis Rods, to be laid out through this and other Tracts, in 
the most convenient manner, from the Landing Place at the North. 
End of Lake George, to the Fon at Crown Point." 

The tract granted to John Kennedy extended from the lower falls 
along the north side of the creek to the fort grounds, thence across to 
Lake Champlain and down along its shore, from which his north line 
took in a broad flank of the plateau of the north part of the town in 
its course to the mountains. At his death this property came into the 
hands of " Henry Kennedy, Surgeon, the oldest brother of John Ken- 
nedy, gentlemen diseased," who sold it Sep. 26, 1765, for 150 pounds 
sterlina: to Abraham P. Lott and Peter Theobaldus Curtenius, '^ mer- 
chants of the City of New York," who sold the same to Samuel Deall, 
" merchant," &c., Dec. 10, 1767, for ISO pounds lawful money. 

Such were the ancient landmarks of the early grants, of which the 
lands yet retain the names and other reminiscences, though now broken 
up by leasing, sales, and improvements into hundreds of minor 
possessions. 

Sect- X.— S. Deall and his Letters, 1776. 

Samuel Deall, then, a wealthy merchant in New York City, purch- 
ased, as early as 1767, a tract of five thousand acres between Horicon 
and Champlain. Possessed of enlarged views, remarkable energy, 
foresight, business capacity, active benevolence and means equal to his 
desires, this English gentleman entered into the improvement of hiti 
possessions with a zeal, whole-heartedness, sagacity and enthusiasm to 
do good, which-deserve to be brought to the knowledge, and to entitle 
him to the admiration and imitation, of every citizen of this town, 
county an«l surroundings of which he so prominently promoted the early 
developement and well-being. He was the father of trade, manu- 
factures, and agriculture in Ticonderoga. To William Gilliland, also a 
merchant of New York City, whose settlement in 1765 at the mouth 
«f the Roquet so largely influenced the affairs of Clinton and Essex 
Counties, due and most careful remembrance by other writers has been 
paid. It is but a matter of justice and we think it will be found one of 
general interest and value, that the efforts of Samuel Deall also should 
be carefully recorded, and the two merchants, so much alike in time 
of settlement, character, and kind of labor, be ranked together in the 
common honor of brother pioneers. 

Mrs. Ethelindo Deall, wife of the son of the proprietor above named, 
now living among us in her ninety-first year, and yet showing a clear, 
calm and happy mind, has allowed the writer access to family papers 
in her possession from which the following extracts from the letters of 
Mr Deall to Lt. John Stoughton, his partner in trade, and to several 
others in his"employ in Ticonderoga as early as 1767, arc copied. The 
curious revektions these extracts make of the carjy condition of busi- 



24 WHAT TICONUEROGA DOES, 

ness affairs — the amount of Intoxicating Beverages sold — the difficulties 
of transportation to and the erection of mills in a new country then as 
compared with the present time — the mention of the boats on Lake 
George, the carrying place between the lakes, the early business of the 
Saw-mills, the condition of the country before the revolution, — especi- 
ally the revelations made by the extracts of the character above claimed 
for their author, and the fact that what he did and was is so little known, 
it being generally supposed and stated that Ticonderoga was settled after 
the Revolution — have induced the writer as a matter of justice, as 
as well as of general value and interest, to insert largely from these re- 
liable papers of local history. We charge the printer, as he venerates 
ihe olden times, to present the capital letters, punctuation and orthog- ^ 
raphy of that period found in the extracts, without fault in their an- 
cient dress, and we insert no italics as hardly a word is without inter- 
est. Eeginning some eight years before the Revolution, the narrative 
runs as follows : — 

JVew York, May 4th, 1767, 
To Mr. John Stoughton, at Ticonderoga Landing. 
We was glad to hear you was got safe to your Landing, we often Pittied Mrs. 
.S^toughton, and the young Lady. I shall first wright you Business and then 
JVews. I have agree.able to your desire, got, and shall ship on board an Albany 
-Sloop, about Wednesday next, the 7th, at your and my Risque, on Acct., 4 casks 
fine Jamaica Spirits, 2 Do Powder sugar, and 1 Do Molasses, and one box or cask 
which will contain Capt. Morris box and your clothes, the Fish hooks and a few 
seeds, all which I hope in God will come safe to you. * * * You had better 
send down your own team, as the Load will be heavy. * * pray send a careful 
Hand and not Trust, to them Dutch Waggoners, as it will be your Risque as much 
as mine. * * the Spirits is very fine and High, and you may add at least 6 
gallons of W. to each of those Casks to bring them down to Common Rum. 

To the same. New York, Nov. 4th, 1767, 

I have not had time to answer to this day, [2 or 3 letters from you] was preven- 
ted by 2 London ships coming in with a large cargo for me, and since have 
been 12 Days on the grand Jewery-^the afternoon I was dismissed I got Rum 
taster and we Searched the Town for Spirits, which is very scarse and high from 
5s to 4s 6d. I have taken 2 Hhds of the latter of G, W. Beekman for cash direct- 
ly. I dont, think it so high as the first I sent you, but it is very good and the 
best in York, we may not get so good as the first was, and at the Price this seven 
years again. * * * i am glad you have got all your cattle salfe home and 
that the sheep came to so good a market, hope the next will do the same. 

New York, Dec. 28th, 1767. 

To Mrs. Ruth Stoughton, do. do. 

Yesterday I reed, your Melancholy Acct, of Poor Mr, Stoughton'^ death [in 
lake George, where his boat and goods sunk.] You may depend on the Strictest 
Honor and .Justice, on my part in your unhappy .situation, and all the advice 
and assistance in my power for you and your dear child. * * * ]VJr_ Stough- 
ton and I am not only jointly concerned in the goods I have sent up as such but 
in the Purchase of some Lands also. * * j am surprised Mr. Stoughton never 
informed you of the agreement we made of being jointly concerned in the sale of 
the goods sent up by his order and the Risque of Loss or Damage on these goods 
coming up. * * i j,ad promised myself much pleasure of spending next sum- 
mer in your Neighborhood to build a Saw Mill. I have bought all the land be- 
tween the King's Saw Mill and the Port Land. I Beg the Shingles, the Boards 
and the Timber that is Cut for me, may be taken care of till I come, as likewise 
my Mare. 

New York, .Lany 9th, 1768. 
To Mrs.Ituth Stovghton, at the Carrying Place, at Ticonderoga Landing. 
I hope you do not think of leaving the Landing or Neglect your improvements 



I 



WHAT TICONDEROGA DOES. 25 

as T intend if please God to be up next Spi-ing to bcQ;iii bulldinir a Saw Mill and 
other improvements wliich will be to the advantage uf Loth yours and my Laud. 
I Lave the laud from the fort to the Mountain. 

New York, Dec. 23th, 1768. 

To Mr. John Jonei,, at Fort George. 

I hope your Team will be able to bring up all my goods that is now at Alba- 
ny, as I think your Man Abel is very Honest and careful. The Mill Stones is 
very heavy — they will require strength and Great Care in the Carriage of them, 
the best way to carry them safe will be to lay them on a good Bed of Hay or 
Straw on the Sled, otherwise they may Breaiie, and that will be a great Loss. 

New York, Dec. 29th, 1768.^ 

2''o Capt. John F. Pntyn, at Albany. 

Ordering the Boat [afterwards called the Petty Anger, used on Lake George, 
and made the subject of many careful directions to his hands,] to be made. — 
Beg jf^ou'll have her made of the best Materials and Neat and make her with a 
Kudder to stear her w/th, instead of stearing with an Oar, let her have Seats in 
the Stem for Passengers to set on, and i Good Oars, tell the Builder to give her 
a Little Rise in the Head .and Stern, she will look the better for it and will keep 
out the Water better if it Blows hard. 

New York, Jany 16th, 1769. 

To Fox and Huntington, at the Saw Mills near Ticondcroga. 

I beg you will let me know on what Terms Mr. Fox you will take care of my 
Petty Anger and Battoe's on Lake George next summer, to live in the Block 
House at the landing and keep Tavern, and Mr. Huntington you to Assist at 
Building my Mills or anything Else I shall have occasion to Employ you about. 
* * * I think I ordered the shingles to be cut 2 feet long, 18 inches will be 
too short. I was in hopes I should have seen one or both of you at York with 
a load of Venison before this. Beg my compliments to Mrs. Fox and all 
Friends, &c. 

The enterprises thu.s begun were variously but steadily and entbusi- 
astically carried on. Fox it Huntico;ton cut timber during Tfinter of 
1769 for him, Samuel Adams was to draw it in for the mills, James 
Spardiag with their assistance and that of Mr. Jones of Fort George 
were to '•'get the Petty Anger afloat and rig out her cordage and sails 
early in the next spring," in May of which Mr. Deall was to be at Ft. 
Greorge "with his team all complete for use ;" the Petty Anger was to 
traverse the lake "if any freight offers worth going over;" and, if Mr. 
Fox and family "found it more convenient," they were to move into 
"the Block house at the Landing to the two Rooms at the North End 
up Stairs till I come to fix it otherwise;" but in March, 1769, Mr 
Deall writes to John Jones of Ft. George : "I think I shall be obliged 
to defer my Mills for this Summer by what I can learn ol Mr. Mackin- 
tosh, he is very angry with Fox. [for a debt of ten pounds.] I 
dont think I shall be ablo to get up my Mill-Stones this Winter, would 
not have them up in a wagon by no means ;" also he sends "walnuts 
to be put into earth till spring, then to plant out, at the same time I 
sent Peach Stones &c. to Mr. Fox, should be glad if you could send him 
the "Walinuts and order him to dig the ground where Mr. Stoughton's 
Hay Rick stood and sow them all there as soon as he can," but now 
the whole territory is covered with walnut trees, whether from these 
or indigenous is a curious question. In reply to Mr. Jones' conmunii- 
cation about encroachments upon his laud, under date of March 30, 
17fi:i, he speaks of his land and purposes thus definitely : — 

■I am much obliged to youfor your kind inlormation. The Gentleman's Pow- 
•■■ is not so cxtcnaivc as hclmacrines. Be ai-sured he has no Power further tlian 



26 WlIAl ilCUMjKUiJCA DOhH. 

fifteen liniKhod yards IVijin tl|0 Fort, !ind from that between tho two AVjiteis 1 
have live Tliousand Acres of Land that no raau Living has any Rights to but 
myself. That other Gentleman knows it very well tho' lie deceives his Friends. 
1 am sorry to be dissajjointed this Summer of Building my Mills but hope next 
to compleat them." 

Huntington was engaged to huild the saw and grist mill in August, 
1769, "provided jou will engage to finish thera in the most wprkman- 
like manner, which is my full intent to have done." Mr. Deal) adds ; 

"I cant spare but one Acre of the Clear Meadow next to tlie Mill, to Pam up 
from the Mill Dam to the Road that crosses from the Clear Laud Down to the 
great Swamp that the Army made to go to the Breast PFork, and you may 
Clear and work as much of the Laud as you please between that lload aud the 
River." 

To John Spardiug, Oct. 26, I7G9, he writes : 

"You give me pleasure to hear you are going to clear some land for Wheat 
over the Bridge, as I hope Mr. Huntington will have tlic Mills ready to grind it. 
* I hope you and every one will do all they can to forward so useful an undertak- 
ing. I am in some Hopes I shall see you all next Summer and I hope in God I 
shall find you all friends and trying to serve each other." 

The sickness of Huntington delayed the completion of the saw mills 
until the winter of 1771, and of the gristmill till about the summer of 
1772. At last the anxious care and energy of their projector was sat- 
isfied, but not long rewarded. Soon after, the Hevolution broke out, 
and, near its opening, Samuel Deall died at his post of duty in New York 
and his family returned to England during the Revolution, leaving their 
property in the wilds of Ticouderoga to the ravages of war and the di- 
lapidations of time., Samuel Deall was a violent loyalist, very firm and 
outspoken against the cause of the American Rebels; but to the aged 
man with bis fixed and cautious opinions and large property and other- 
wise noble course, this can be pardoned. If every man following him 
in Ticonderoga and these northern abodes had labored with his enthu- 
siasm, sagacity and unselfish devotion to the public good, what would 
have been our commercial, social and moral advancemnt now } 
Sect. XI .-The Old Eort from 1763 to 1776. 

Gradually, while the improvements described in Mr. Deall's letters 
were going on, the Old Fort at Ticonderoga, garrisoned by indolent 
red-coats, was getting out of war-like repair. A white heifer calf that 
roamed about the fort is mentioi),ed by Mr. Deall as a valuable purchase 
he had made lor one of his workmen. Letters accompanying boxes of 
".spirits," and "sushong tea," sent to the order of commandants of Car- 
rillon and Crownpoint, are among the interesting revelations of the state 
ot society prevailing in the fort in those quiet days from 1763 to the 
]{evolutiou. Mr. Francis Arthur, a relative of Jlr. Deall, who was 
hont while a young man to oversee his mills, often took dinner with 
(Japtain La Place, and glad were the two Englishmen to see each other. 
Though young Aithur held firmly to Temperance principles, it was 
nearly impossible to leave the fort without getting drunk : a man who 
could not stand spirits in tliose days was no man at all. The fat table 
of Captain La Place, who would seem to have been something of an 
epicure, contained at these dinners as a choice rarity, rattlesnake scup^ 
and for this dish twenty-five cents a piece were paid for the reptiles. It 
was daring these seven years, too, preceding the revolution, while Deali 
was building his millh and the taxation troubles brewing in the colonies, 
that the heroic men of tiiu (ireoi: Mountains were struggling for the 
possession of their homes against the proscriptions aud penalties fulmin- 



VTH AT TlroNnEROGA nOKS. 27 

ated against tlietn by the Legislature of New York, whicb ctaiined jn- 
tisdiction to the top of the Green Jlountains. Ethan Allen, SetU 
Warner, Eemember Baker, and Pete Jones, often looked towards Ti- 
conderoo-a as the sore spot of support and refuge for the hirelings of 
York upon whom they so justly, merrily and unmercifully applied the 
hzeck seal, f rom fort Ticondoroga more frequently than from any oth- 
er place were sent out by New York, the executors of that infamous 
attempt to eject the settlers of the New Hampshire/ grants, which made 
them apply to our State the biting words of shameful history: — 

" Thus, spite of prayers, her schemes pursuing, 

She went on still to work our ruin ; 

Annul'd our charters of releasee, 

And tore our title deeds to pieces ; 

Then signed her warrants of ejection. 

And gallows raised to stretch our necks on ; 

And straightway sent, like dogs to bait us, 

MuNROE, vfithposse comitatus.'" 

It is well to mark how by these noble struggles, God was preparing 
the men of the Green Mountains for the greater yet kindred struggle 
"of the Revolution, and how were gathering slowly the clouds and the 
power of that seven years storm which was to beat so wildly about the 
grey fortress of Ticonderoga, ere the purified heavens should clear 
away into the air and sunshine of Independence and Peace. One 
morning Capt. La Place was served by Ethan Allen with something 
more pungent than his usual fare of spirits and rattle-snake soup. The 
great war began : and in its caiirse the mills of Samuel J^eall wove 
burnt by a battalion of Burgoyne's army, and the early beginnings of 
the peaceful arts around the Sounding Waters obliterated to give room 
for more startling inscriptions in the history of blood. 

Sect, XII.— Settlers after the Revolution. 

Pioneers are picked men. Physical endurance, unbending energy, 
practical foresight, courage and experience, must unite in the man who 
dares and delights to meet, and successfnlly convert to his own use, the 
wilds of a new country. Amoog the early settlers of this town after 
the Revolution nearly every one exhibits this character. The country, 
despite its historical prominence, was wild, rugged, and remote. "Ti ! 
why, that is out of the world!" said the inhabitants of our southern 
Coiicties; and excursionists from the opposite shores of Vermont, when 
asked of the extent of their travels, used to reply that "They had been 
all over creation, a?i^ a part of York State. ''^ Ah ! give us again the 
era of the axe and the sword, say some ; it was a time that called out 
man's energies and gave him power tliat our present life cannot inspire. 
Nay, we reply, though we speak of the pioneer days as sustaining and 
quickening to huro.an energy and worvh, we would still recognize as far 
nobler the struggle of the present era, the subduing of moral obstacles 
as greater than physical perils, and the call of Humanity for knowl- 
edge, and liberty, and elevation, in our day, as more inspiring and im- 
perative to the working energies of the responsible soul than aught that 
could appeal to the woodman or the soldier. But it is for the benefit 
of the present that we speak of the past : for the moral that we sketch 
the physical. There is yet pioneer work to be done in all knowledge 
and progress for the good of man, and cabins to build, and first crops 
to sow, and regions remote and rugged to subdue. 



28 WHAT TICONDEROGA D0K3. 

John Kirhy, Judge Oliarlos Hay, Georsjc and Alexander Tremble, 
Uideon Shattuck, Abner Beldeu, Jud^e Kellog, and Samuel ('ook, are 
among the pioneers of Ticonderoga, who with George Clinton and John 
Jay, first governors of New York after the Revolution, cooperated in 
extending the settlement, improvement and social organization of the 
State. What was their character and ability ? 

JOHN KIRBY. 

Upon the points which jut into the lake to the north of Fort Ticon- 
deroga along the flank of theiplateau, are yet to be seen ruins of half a 
a score of houses, evidentl}' occupied soon after the revolution. A lit- 
tle low cape called Corn Point, because it was the only place where 
corn was raised in that early day, had washed up on its sandy beach not 
long since the skull abd other remains of what were supposed to be eai;- 
ly settlers buried where the intrusive waters of the lake disturbed them. 
Among these points, one known as Kirby's point, was the residence of 
John Kirby, before the revolution. His family were often left alone, 
in his services at Ft. George. Being sent from the head of Horicon to 
Saratoga, he violated his charge and come on towards his home, but 
was taken by the Indians and severely maltreated on his way. U.e was 
rescued by Capt. Fraser and sent into St. Johns, and Capt. Carleton 
came and took his family from the point in batteaus and sent them into 
Canada after the opening of the Revolution. Recovering a consider- 
able sum from the British Government as its subject for damages to 
his lands during the Revolution, the tory, as some have called him, re- 
turned to his location on Kirby's Point as early as 1792. He was 
probably the first settler of the plateau in the north part of the town, 
though Mr. IMunroe and Mr. Thompson located themselves further 
back soon after. Mr. Kirby conducted a large business, was justice of 
peace for thirty years, and as an officer and citizen, by his activity and 
ability, exercised a controling influence upon the town. 

JUDGE HAY. 
At the opening of the Revolution Judge Charles Hay, then a weal- 
thy merchant in Montreal, received oi'ders from the King, in common 
with other American residents, to take up arras against the colonists or 
to quit the country and leave his property to confiscation. An ofi"er 
of any commission he might choose was made him by the British of- 
ficials, and in addition to these powerful inducements, his wife said, 
"Go, take up arms and save your home and property and life perhaps, 
— you can sjioot over their heads or the other way if brought to battle.'' 
''I make no false pretensions," was the patriotic reply, — "the cause of 
the colonists is just, and I shall not prove false to it, though I lose all." 
And this noble ro?olution stood through severest trials. Letters of 
the wealthy merchant to his brother Udney Hay, afterwards a Colonel 
in the stafi' of General St. Clair, for which theivish sentinels had been 
lying in wait, being at last intercepted, testimony was thence adduced 
by v>'hich his property was confiscated, and he himself cast into prison 
for three years, eighteen months of which he passed in close confine- 
ment. The penalty of his patriotism having at last expired, he was 
allowed to go free to an unsafe and impoverished home, but, refusing 
tbe injustice, he began a suit before the King'.s Bench for false impris- 
onment. His wife, who had seen the streets of Montreal strewn with 



^Y^AT ricoxDEROGA Dor.s. 29 

the broken boxes, provisions, and household goods of their confiscated 
property, was obliged to cross the ocean three times to give testimony 
before a court, which finally allowed barely damages enough to cover 
her expenses. Leaving Canada about the close of the Revolution, and 
tiiereby setting the seal to the loss of his property. Judge Hay spent 
three years at Poughkeepsie,%nd then removed to Fort George, at the 
head of lake Horicon. A Mr. Nesbit, during his residence of two 
years at this place, kept store for him in the Old King's Store near the 
present steamboat landing from Champlain at Ticonderoga. Having 
sent forward to Nesbit, cattle, implements, and grain to start a farm, 
with a large cargo of merchandise for the store, that infamous trades- 
man and employee, who, we are happy io say, if he was prebably the 
first, was not a model or a prophecy of those to follow in his line of bus- 
iness, sold the whole, and availing himself of the proceeds, crossed the 
thirty rods of water which separated him from the Vermont shore, 
where he enjoyed his robbery in defiance of the law. 

The Old King's Store thus left empty, was next occupied by Judge 
Hay himself and family. He was a Scotchnjan by birth, had been lib- 
ertdly educated for the ministry, and was descended from the old Scotch, 
as was also his wife from the old English, nobility. A fellow country- 
man of the Hays, of a neighboring town, relates a curious incident ex- 
plaining the origin of the name, — that a worthy ancestor of the family 
in a certain skirmish arising out of the troubles between England and 
Scotland, having at hand no better weapon than a hickory club, leaped 
with this among the enemy and belaboured them about the ears, crying 
as the blows fell vengefuUy, "hey ! hey ! hey !" — whereupon the King, 
riding up, knighted him under that syllable for a name, siucc written 
Hay. 

Of such origin, of such education, experience, patriotism and ability, 
was the first prominent settler of Ticonderoga after the Revolution. — 
Charles Hay was made Judge immediately after his arrival, and, as he 
held that honorable and influential position until his death, is better 
known as Judge Hay than by any other appellation. He opened a ho- 
tel in the Old King's Store, where travelers from Vermont on hunting 
aad fishing excursions to the Silver Water, or on the ice from White- 
hall, getting in late at midnight sometimes, with chance passengers up 
and down the lake, wore aecommodared. Bowls of merry punch, and 
grog for merry Campfields, are among the less pleasant reminiscences 
of this tavern. It was at Judge Hay's house that the elections of the 
town of Crownpoint, then embracing Ticonderoga, Moriah, W'estport, 
Elizabethtown, Sohroon, Minerva, Newcomb, North Hudson and a part 
of Keene, were held. The first town meeting of Crownpoint was held 
in Decen^ber, 17SS. The town business, also preaching and public 
meetings, were held here. These facts point to Judge Hay as one of 
the most prominent and influential citizens of the extensive town of 
which he was the earliest settler. 

The old King's Store stood until a few years ago, so low roofed as 
to almost touch the ground on the upper side, and but one story high 
on the lower side, where boats come up to a stoop built to receive pro- 
vision. It was laid out in largo apartments, and in every way an eulo- 
gy upon the mortar and skill of the French builders, who erected it in 
1755 with Fort Carrillon. 



30 WITAT TlrONDEnOHA DOE":. 

CEOKGE AND ALEXA^'DEFl TREMBLE. 

Through a location made by General Schu3'ler, George Trerahle ob- 
tained possession of the site of the mills of Samuel Deall, at the north 
side of the lower falls, and had a grist-mill and saw-raill there as early 
as 1792. He was the first to establish business at the Lower Village 
after the revolution ; bought a^l the wheat that the vicinity offered for 
sale ; sent flour to market, and lumber north and south •, acquired con- 
f^iderable property ; was justice of the peace several years, and show- 
ed himself a man of ability, energy and influence. George Tremble 
lived in a respectable frame-house, opposite the present location of the 
old red grist-mill on the south side of the lower falls. By an act of the 
JiCgislature the possession of the mills, which he claimed -ander the 
location of General Schuyler, was eventually restored to the heirs ol 
Samuel Deall. After the death of George, by lingering consumption, 
Lis brother Alexander went to law about the property. It is said that 
strong drink and litigation almost ruined Alexander fiuancially and 
physically, so that, barely escaping jail, he died indigent, about ISIS. 
"Tremble Mountain" at the south of the town, and "Tremble Mead- 
ow'' near the fort, preserve the names of the brothers, and our neigh- 
boring town, Crowupoint, numbers their descendants among its most 
prosperous farmers and worthy citizens, 

■H'DGEKELLOG. 

Isaac Kellog lived on the east shore of the Rapids at the outl.^t of 
Horicon. He was a man ol large experience, education and ability ; 
had great iuflnence iu his town, and represented his district for several 
3'ears iu the State Legislature. ^Mlen a boy he had been taken from 
^\'illiam3town, Mass., by the Indians, and used to say he owed many of 
his habits, especially his worst ones, to the years spent in their society. 
He is remembered as the most able man among the early settlers. A 
friend describes him as looking much like Geo. Washington, and that 
his prudence and-ability were such that he had great influence with the 
Governor and Legislature. He was no orator, but a man of superior 
intellect, information and energy. Though his family were accustomed 
to pass the winter in Albany, they seem to have been free at home 
alike from the luxuries and effeminacy of fashion. Mrs. Ethelinde 
Deall says that the last time she visited Mrs. Kellog their house was so 
poor that blankets were hung up to keep out the cold. Yet this wo- 
man was the one who tied an Indian to her bed-post with bark rope for 
his insolence, and left him there all night to be jeered at by his compan- 
ions, and who was noted for a heart and a hand ever open to the poor 
of the neighborhood. 

GIDEON SHATTUCK. 

In 1793, this man of the rifle and fish-hook, came in across the Eap- 
ids around Roger's Rock through Cook's bay into the south end of 
Trout Brook valley, n6w called Toughertown. "How do you get along.-" 
said friends in Vermont to the early settlers of this rocky locality.- — 
"Well, pretty hard times— but I'll tougk it yet^''^ was the reply, and 
this answer was given so often and uniformly that the place was laugh- 
ingly named Toiighcrtoion. Roaming among the wild mountain scene- 
ry, and swarming in the neighboring Silver Water, the game of the 
n-oods and lake, attracted the first as it does the latest dwellers in this 



WHAT TUONULROGA UOES, HI 

spot. I'liclo Gidcou U'^ed to yay tliat he had seen the time when he 
could sink a canoe in six hours fishing in Lake Horicon, and his skill- 
ful, remunerative, and almost constant piscatory labors usually wound 
up for the day by the arrival of one of the boys with a horse and cart to 
drag home the fat and scaly proceeds. 

ELLSHA BELDEN, 
"Was a near neigh'bor of Mr. Shattuck's, closely following him in 
time of Settlement, tastes and occupations. Provision was so plenty 
around the waters of Horicon in those days that a deer shot down in 
the clear pine woods a mile from home, where no rocks or underbrush 
made travel troublesome, was not thought worth bringing home. If a 
hunter went as far then for a deer as we do now to find a squirrel, it 
was thought a great distance. Father Elisha was famous for hunting 
rattle-snakes, which he sent from the Rattle-snake's den near Roger's 
Rock, as curiosities to various parts. The stories of his captures of 
that reptile with a crotchod stick, and of his peculiar power over them, 
are no less wonderful than well authenticated. In one of his trips to 
the den, on a sabbath afternoon, he was badly bitten, but he. said "it 
■was because the varmints did not know him, as he was dressed up and 
had on white stockings — they thought he was Judge Kellog." At last 
going out one day alone, to fill a basket with this dangerous game, tho 
old man did not return. AVhen found he was sitting upon the rocks, 
leaning back, frightfully swollen and blackened with poison — dead. — 
A snake, cut to pieces with his jack-knife, lay by his side, with frag- 
ments of the fiesh, thought to be a remedy for the poison, which he 
had applied to the bite beneath his arm, to which, it is supposed, the 
chafing of his side against the cover of the basket, as he carried it had 
let out the heads of the reptiles. It was said, as before, that a change 
of clothes he had lately made put it beyond the wisdom of the rattle- 
snakes to recognize him, and hence his power over them was lost, but a 
better explanation was a half empty whiskey-bottle found near the spot, 
whose contents had so fatally palsied the truly remarkable courage and 
skill of the old hunter. 

SAMUEL COOK, 

From New Milford, Ct., made tho first clearing by the 'cold spring'' 
north of the creek towards the gallows gate, back of the Lower Village, 
and settled there in 1796. He introduced many important improi^e- 
ments in agriculture and Live Stock, and was well known as having 
the largest number of cattle and horses of the vicinity at that time, and 
for his zeal and extended efforts for the good of the town in that direc- 
tion. Friend's Point, upon Lake Horicon, just over the southern bor- 
ders of the toWn, to which he afterwards removed, was covered with 
conflicting titles. Of a Mr. Lester and his wife, who had built a tem- 
porary hut there, Samuel Cook purchased his title. Sometime after, 
the brothers of Mr. Lester, who had removed west, come from the city 
of New York to claim the Point as legal heirs, but found Samuel Cook, 
as tho story goes, in the door of his house, with a cocked musket, and 
^-worn to defend against the first interloper all his improvements, of 
which they ineffectually attempted by law to get possession. Sam. Cook is 
described as a stirring, active man, distinguished for any amount of per- 
severance, practical judgment, energy, and ability to plan. Under the 



32 WHAT TICONDKROGA DOES* 

s 

influence of liquor, mth regard to which at times be most uuliappily 
followed the fashions of the day, he was pugnacious, and prodigal of 
money, but when sober those who knew hi'.n say that he was always 
called a man of excellent heart, information and judgment, and that 
many came to him for advice. 

Sect. XIII.-Good Old Times- 

Industrial effort, more than anything else, has changed its aspects 
since pioneer times. For want of markots it was narrow, circumscribed 
to its own wants, and full of barter then ; now, by the opening of canals 
.and railroads, it is broad, special, and is paid in cash. 

Most of the pioneers of this town obtained their land by squatting. — ■ 
Then they built a rude dwelling ; made a little clearing ; did little but 
hunt and fish ; kept perhaps one poor cow, a few hogs and a dog ; had 
a little strip of moadow ; kept cattle in the wood on browse during the 
winter ; raised a little corn in the garden and a few potatoes ; brought 
their provisions from Vermont mostly ; and finished their farming by 
planting a few apple trees, to grow when they were gone. A few of 
our first s'ettlers, as we have seen, had larger bbjects in view than gam"fe 
for their rifles : but in most families, especially the humblest, this was 
the first aspect of industrial effort. They could not sell for want of 
market, and hence they could not buy. They were therefore obliged 
to supply all their wants themselves : the man who did "everything with- 
in himself," was considered the best manager. 

Those, therefore, were pioneer days when ox-yokes were made in the 
long evenings by the blazing fire-place. Then and there, too, men 
scraped their own axe-helves ; and bent their own ox-bows; and smooth- 
ed their own whip-stocks ; and braided their own whip-lashes ; and put 
handles to their own jack-knives ; and peeled their own brooms out of 
white birch or sweet walnut, or braided them of hemlock ; and shaved 
their own barrel staves ; and hooped their own beer-casks ; and sewed 
up their own harnesses; and shaped their own horse-shoes; and run 
their own bullets; and tapped their own boots; and swingled their own 
flax ; and hollowed their^own wooden dishes ; and ironed their own ox- 
carts : and mended their own bob-sleds. And, as the meO worked, the 
crackle of the big fore sticks and back sticks mingled with the hum of 
the little linen-wheel, or the large spinning-wheel, or with the rattle of 
shuttle and treadles, for there, too, before the fire, the women picked 
their own wool, and carded their own rolls, and spun their own yarn, 
and drove their own looms, and made their own cloth, and cut their 
own garments, and did their own making and mending entire, (and made 
then not half so much fuj^s and ado about it as modern ladies make who 
have simply to bu7 the cloth and see it put together,) and dipped their 
own candles, and tried their own soap, and bottomed their own chairs 
and braided their own baskets, and wove their own carpets, and quilted 
their own coverlids, and picked their own geese feathers, and milked 
their own cows, and tended their own calves and pig-pens, and went a 
visiting on their own feet, or rode to meeting or wedding on ox-sleds 
with a bundle of straw for a seat, and at their backs two hickory stakes 
and a log chain. 

Lihor was exchanged upon the same principle. There were logging 
bees, and husking bees, and paring bees, and raisings and quiltings. 



■WHAT TICONDEROGA DOES, 33 

So strong was the sense and necessity of this mutual dependence that 
some who would refuse to pay a note of hand did not dare to stay back 
from a logging bee or a raising. All hands, with teams and hand- 
spikes, turned out cheerily, and not a small attaaction at their otherwise 
unexceptionable gatherings, most unhappily, was riim. Even for ladies 
at quiltings, we are told, rum was provided at times, or wine, or hot 
sling. To 'Bring on the bottle' was an essential part of hospitality 
and manliness. And now and then, fiery spirits, men used to muscu- 
lar effort and the open air, got ablaze, and a free fight enlivened the 
smoking fallow or made the timbers of the raising echo laughter. In- 
terchange took place everywhere. The pastor, when tbey had any, was 
paid by donation parties, and the school master boarded round. The 
qualifications for marriage in young girls were neither education nor 
dress nor wealth particularly, but to be strong and steady and to know 
how to do housework and get a living. The wheel and the axe, the 
loom and the plow, were joined at marriage. "They used to have large 
families then, fifteen' or twenty," we are told : "they dont have children 
now." And by and by, after friendly interchange of labor had helped 
raise the house, clear the land, and secure a livelihood, when death 
come, the neighbor was borne to his last home, not in a hired hearse, 
but upon the shoulders of strong armed friends, somewhat lacking cul- 
ture, it may be, but not heart or mind. 

Limited productions, the want of a full monied demand, and the ab- 
sence of highways of commercial interchange, were the essential causes 
of this state of Industrial effort. The laborer was not then as he is now 
brought into connection with the whole world ; open channels of inter- 
course did not necessitate his study of foreign or distant markets, and a 
general knowledge of commercial matters such as the man must now 
have who strives successfully against competition ; but, it must be ad- 
mitted, that their system was nevertheless wisely adapted to the con- 
dition of the country, and no less marked by sagacity than by heroic man- 
liness, and the most noble neighborly love. . ^Ve make our picture of 
this era fuller than we should and place it higher in the Home Sketch- 
es, were it not passed away, and did we not believe that age would be 
blessed and youth profited by the memory of the worthy traits, well- 
belovedj of the good old times. 

Sect. XIV.— "Want, Work, and Wolves. 

We have a rich treat for any reader in the following narrative. It 
presents more points of interest, and gives a completer view of pioneer 
life, than any reminiscences of the old times we have lately read or 
heard. It is from the grand-mother of one of our most highly respect- 
ed families, Mrs. Adolphus Sheldon. It begins when she was a girl, 
and follows her through marriage to a hard-working life. Want, work, 
wolves, woods, bears, deer, energy, and love, enter into the simple 
story. Sitting by her side with our note-paper we will imitate her yet 
clear, vivacious and energetic style of conversation, as nearly as possi- 
ble : — 

'•I am now 74 years old. I was 13 -when I came. This then was in T7y7. — 
We came tkrough fromtlie head of lake George on an awful cold day on tho ico. 
No stage, or mail, or hardly any travel, so we had no track. Mother wan sick 
that day and lying in tho Ijottom of the sleigh come once or twice near fainting. 
We thought for our eouls we never should get through where we could get wu- 



34 WHAT ticoxderoga does. 

tor for mother. We did start to bring a little spirits in the morning bnt for^jot 
it. On neither side of the lake -was there any settlement except at Sabbath day 
jjoint. There botli sides and whole length of the lake the great pines stood, all 
around on the iiioiintains, one unbroken wilderness. Not an axe had been heard 
there then or hardly a gun to scare the deer — Well, we got in at the Upper Falls, 
where there were only 2 houses, Capt. Bailey's and Mr. Cole's. We lived in a 
Kinall wood house just above the Rapids two weeks and then went to the Thorn- 
ton place, just south of the Lower Village, where we lived six years. 

We had heard that Ti. was a Paradise, that we should hnd pigs and fowls 
ready cooked running about with knives and forks stuck in their backs, crying, 
'•Eat uk!" But when we got there it was all bushes. ■ In the new roads the stubs 
stuck up as thick as your fingers, and down you would go at every careless step. 
The land was densely timbered. We had one cow and a yoke of cattle. I'll tell 
you the way we built our lirst cabin. Father took 14 feet boards and withed 
them up to four staddles that stood just right and covered them ovec^ hovel fash- 
ion. "\ye moved in. On the loth of April come snow breast deep and there we 
were,. It was a terrible storm, — you could walk over the fences, and we gath- 
ered sap on snow shoes. We all went to cutting logs and when we got four walls 
locked together, half a roof and the chamber floor, we moved in. When we want- 
ed groceries we had to cross the lake to J. Catlin's for them, but oftener went 
without them. I remember going once to a mill and dusting up flour from be- 
hind the bolt that had M'orms in it, picking them out, and so making broad. We 
had brown bread, and wheat cracked in milk. Laud alive ! when we wanted 
flsh, all we had to do was to run down to the brook— there were schools as big 
as a washtub. Father drew out 18 great trout one morning, I remember, in a- 
bout three minutes. Wo had provision left back on the way at Hoosack Falls, 
but we could not get it. Finally father gave a man half of it for going with his 
team for it. 

Father had to work over the lake in Vermont to get hay for his critters. — 
Mother and I when he was gone used to take the axe and bush hook and go out 
to our clearing at the back of the barn and work all day. We used to cut out 
all the underbrush and staddles, and pile them up. I tell you sir, as slick as 
bean poles ; and then, when he came home, he cut the big timber. Once we 
logged there three days on a black fallow — father, and mother and I — and had not 
a piece of bread to eat as big as your Angers, but only fat pork. La, me ! / 
could not eat it, but just took my fish hook and line and ran do\rn to the brook 
for fish. 

No sheep. Land ! you could have no sheep, the wolves would tear you right 
down. You could hear them away off in the night— one would howl, then an- 
■ other would answer — howl, howl — then another, way off, howl, howl, howl. — till 
they got up such a roar that it would almost tear you down. One day I and 
my brother were standing ou the bridge and three wolves came along the road 
close to us. AVe thought they were three grey dogs till they got near, and then 
Ave scampered, I tell you. Oh ! they were awful thick and dangerous. We never 
had any sheep. You could not keep any. 

The animals we feared most were bears, wolves, catamounts, and rattlesnakes. 
Deer were thick as sheep are now. Shot one from the house door once. 

Gracious ! we did'nt have any calico. Calico was worth a dollar a yard ! I 
took flax and spun it, colored it with copperas and made a dress that lasted 10 
years, and I went to balls in it. Little cloth enough in ladies' dresses in those 
days. Two breadths, one in front and one behind, with a couple of chinks to 
widen out the sides, were all that we could aflbrd, and then ihey were only just 
a little puckered up behind. Calico short gowns some had. We had to card and 
spin our own cotton, you understand, buying it in bales at 25 cts. a pound. — 
Land alive ! the first calico dress I had cost me $7,00, the next $5,00— cala- 
miiik, they called it. I had a red broadcloth cloak thatcost$21. Fur bats tied 
under the chin were used for dress bonnets. Girls used to wear handkerchiefs 
tied over tlieir heads in turbans witli a bow to dance in. Father made his own 
shoes. 1 made my own with cloth and old felt hat for soles. Went barefoot in 
summer. 1 was married in velvet shoes that father made. 

T must tell you abuut my marriage. You see Squire Perrego married us and 
he was a Squire and a Doctor. So lots of folks came down, having been invi- 
t.'d. Wc had a stew pio made for them in a three pail iron kettle, all nice, and 
it was a good one (oo, but i: would be an awful thing now-a-days to boil in a big 
kf itlc over a fu'c place. 



■VV!IAT XrCONDEROGA DOES. 35 

After we were married we moved across the valley westward to' tlie Sheldon 
place where we had to tough it. I had touglied it at fathers and now 1 hud to 
tough it here. Only half an acre was cleared. There we lived live years with- 
out a stove or fireplace. We absolutely had no chimney. We burned wood 
right against the logs of the cabin and when they got afire we put it out. AVe 
used to draw logs right into the house, great backsticks and foresticks. 

Sap from the maple trees was so plenty that we could hear it in the night, 
drip. drip, drip, till morning. Deer used to come and stand riglit across the run 
where I used to get water, and once one knocked down the door to my oven not 
two rods from the house. bu,t he didn't get the pie crust. 

Now come a trouble upon us. My husband had just got a grand ftvllow burn- 
ed as black as a coal, had worked out and paid for seed wheat, been to get it, 
and coming home, in getting over a log, fell and almost cut his hand in two on 
his sickle. He come home after I was a-bed groaning: "I've cut me to death.'' 
And he did come near bleeding to death. It absolutely bled a small pail full 
and run out at the door though I did every thing to stop it. I halloed, and yell- 
ed to make distant neighbors hear, and could hear nothing but George Cook's 
shee^ bleat and the patter of rain on the leaves. It rained dreadfully that night. 
At last a woman that lived on the mountain' above us came, but she could do 
nothing. I resolved to make a dc.?i)erate attempt, for we believed that my hus- 
band would die. So I seized a great fire-brand and ran. I had no shoes or stock- 
ings, but I swung my fire-brand ahead and to each side to scai'e the wolves as I 
ran along the edge of the mountaila and crossed the valley to my father's place. 
Only a few days before my husband had come along the path with a leg of mut- 
ton. He set it down on tlie leaves a minute, and the next day around that place 
half an acre of leaves was torn up by the wolves. When I had crossed the brook 
I heard something splash in the water behind me. The rain roared so I could 
not hear for sure, but 1 thought it might bo something and looked back, but 
could see nothing. I tell you the grass did not grow under my feet that trip. It 
was not bears, or rattle snakes this time, but wolves, wolves ! I was afi'aid of ihe 
wolves. I came back, after rousing my folks, Avith a candle. I heard Mrs. Ward- 
well from my house, crying out, Murder ! Murder! I cried back, and my folk^? 
thought it was to them, and so they cried to me, and the doctor a little beyond 
Avith my brother to them. I to her, they to me, and my Ijrother and the doctor 
to them, and so it kept up a stream of halooes and yells through woods. It was 
a wild time, but I only thought of my husband. 

He was 3 weeks getting well. I did every thing. I used to harness up my 
horse,,.go to the woods, get my staddles, draw them in, and cut them up for 
wood. Three months I worked so. for he was obliged to go off to work. Our 
fallow was now ripening a nice crop of wheat. Said I to him. "That wheat 
roust be cut." "I cant do it ; I must work in my place," said my husband. — 
"Then I guess I shall reap it to day, myself I" So I set to Avork with my sickle 
alone. I remember I had reaped through twice, raked, bound, and set up my 
grain, and was coming through the third time, when I found a place where the 
sprouts stuck up thick in the grain. I put my sickle round them and was draw- 
ing it in, when — out run a great black rattle snake from the other side ! I got 
me a club and killed him, and tried his fat. He had no gall, for he had been 
eating mice. I put his body across a stump and nine days after his head was 
cut off, when I went there and pi-es.sed a sharp stick into him, the flesh Avould 
gquirra. % 

We took 14 sheep, but one night we could not find them to yard, and that 
same night the wolves killed all but one. One dead carcass we found in the 
crotch of a tree a good way from the ground. 

I umst tell you about one or two tussles we had M'ith bears. There was ono- 
that come into our cornfield and used to tear it down like a dozen hogs. My 
husband tried every way. and at last set a gun for her, just before dark. "Now, 
old woman," said he, "when that gun goes off you must go A\ith me and I will 
find the bear." "What can I doj" said I, "Oh. you can carry a fire brand, if 
nothing more." Just as we Avere getting into bed, bang Avent the old gun. — 
"Here aa'c are," said I. He seized a big brand and I folloAved him out into the 
clearing. "Give the brand to me." said I. "Just as avcU." said he, "I'll go for- 
ward and find the old critter."' "Take care," I warned him, "if she i.s Avounded, 
old man, she Avill make shoe strings of your hide." "No," he Avonld not hear 
to the old Avoman. He had not gone far when he tumbled right OA-er the bear I 
He hopped up, I guess near Iavo feet at tbc bear's growl, and cried~ii bhorL 



36 WHAT TICONDEROGA DOES. ^ 

quick cry— "0 God !'' Bear weighed 200 lbs : we tried the fat ; the meat cut 
like pork, but I could not bear to cat it. 

iVuothcr bear was so cunaiug that when we set a. gun for her she would take it 
out of its place, as w6 knew because it was never fired and by finding the prints 
of her teeth on the stock. Then they watched for lier. Says my husband to 
Ben Sevens, "About dark she will be coming down the ledges and we'll get in 
the brush and let her have." So they did, but she run when wounded, and they 
ai'ter her lickety swingle up the ledge. She turned and cuffed, they clubbed and 
^jacked up till my old man backed against a tree. Little dog jelped and nipped 
so behind that she turned round or she might have killed him. One more good 
v.ipe of the hickory club and she was down. They found seven balls in that 
bear's head. 

When I wanted a broom I went out and cut a hickory club, dried and peeled it. 

A fan kept us three months. Berries were thick. I remember going out to 
pick berries when my oldest son weighed 23 pounds. I laid him down among 
the bushes after mu-sing and picked two pailfuls. Then I picked another pailful 
in my great apron, and took the three pailfuls and my babe and carried them to 
the house. Next day I carried these over the lake to Vermont on horseback and 
brought back j^heese, pork and flom-. That was the way we got our groceries. 

I have given you a true account of how we used to live and what adventures 
we met with. It don't seem scarcely possi))le now that the woods are cleai'ed 
oft", that such wolf-howling and kind of work ever were in these valleys. 

When I had nothing to do I helped my husb^d. I did not care what I wore, 
had. or did—any thing to help him. I worked there and was black as a nigger_ 
We lived, you might say, on worii and love." 

Nothing need be added. This compact and graphic delineation of 
hardships and perilous labors, ought not merely to interest but to in- 
struct those of the present generation. It might be well to mention 
that two brothers of that boy that was cradled among the berry bushes, 
afterwards resolved to get an education. ' As they were too busy to 
study in the day time they studied at night. As they had no candles 
they burned pitch pine. They prepared lessons by torches like those 
with which their mother had scared the wolves. They succeeded by 
most diligent labor, most stern determination, most rigid economy, and 
very remarkable ability. Both are liberally educated, and stand high 
as men of intellectual influence, one having long held the Professor- 
ship of Mathematics in the Free Academy of- New York. Any sketch 
of Ticonderoga would be incomplete without a mention of these self-* 
made men, I>. A. and D. Sheldon, who do not forget their own and their 
father's old home in Trout Brook Valley. 

Sect. XV— Pioneer School Teaching. 

Older towns in Vermont and beyond the Green Mountains furnished 
most of the early school teachers. Qualifioation.s were to teach reading 
and writing and to keep order. Arithmetic and grammar were rarely 
taught ; sewing and knitting were a part of school tasks, piecing calico 
and making fancy articles ; and now and then au enterprising teacher 
had a tea-party for his scholars , or an exhibition. Four months in sum- 
mer, three in winter, were usually allotted to education. The first 
school house of Ticonderoga seems to have stood on what is now called 
the Tobias place, south west from the 'bloody gallows gate,' where so 
many hundred of Abercrombia's men fell before the French lines. A 
Mr.Hethington is said to have been the first teacher. Judge Hay 
found him at Poughkepsie, put him in business, but he was dissipated 
ami so he juU him i;i school ! Among the urchins who swung their feet 
from the front benches, was a black girl from Samuel Deall's family, 
bat it is related that the children of ISOO would not sit on the same 
scat with her, and so she was taken home. The north part of the 



WHAT TICOXDErxOGA DOES. 37 

town was early supplied with means of instruction, also tlic village and 
Toughertowa. We have noted down few educational reminiscences of 
this time more interesting and graphic than the following, which wo 
have from one now in her seventy-eighth year, whose young life was do- 
voted to gaining and giving instruction — Mrs. Deborah Cook. It was 
in 1S05; Mr. Rich, the old hunter, came over into Shoreham after her. 
"I had only an old lame horse," says she, "and was obliged to bring 
my things in a pillow bier, tied on behind. They all laughed at me, at 
my starting place, as I rode off, for Roming to such a place as Tougher- 
town. I was glad when I got out of sight. My gallant trustee left me 
to find my way alone down to Shoreham ferry. After we landed on 
York side I could no more give you a description of our ride than I 
could take you back to it in time — but — he went by the side of my 
horse and helped me along. It was nothing but mud and woods. A 
road bad been out out and worked some, to be sure, but such a road ! — 
old logs to tumble over, long limbs to rake you off the horse, dripping 
leaves, rocks, slough-holes, mire and mud, mud, mud, and my old lame 
horse scarce able to carry my pillow bier, half staggering with my weight. 
There was not much of anything at the Lower Village. At the Upper 
Village there was a little more, and out through Trout Brook valley, 
George Cook, Handy, and Rich had made .claims. Much heavy timber 
we rode under, beech and maple mostly, some pine on flats and hills ; 
no underbrush ; and a great many wind-falls. Went on by the School 
House to Rowley place, all woods there, and then on to Wilson Spen- 
cer's log-house and orchard, and there rested for the night, some people 
from Vermont, and boarded there that summer. We used to take a 
big red dog to protect the children going to school through the woods in 
the morning. My education was not very extensive ; I knew a little of 
grammar and geography, but taught them very little, nor did I have 
any scholar even in the winter school in arithmetic. To read, spell, 
and write was all they thought necessary. My wages were $1,25 a 
week, a great price in those days : no one hardly could get more than 
six or eight shillings. Parents come in often at my school, and once 
we had a party for the scholars with tea. Scholars always took their 
places in spelling. We always gave presents or some trifle on the last 
day of school. I had pieces learned and spoken by boys and girls, too, 
and now and then we had a regular exhibition. I remember borrowing 
sheets to hang up to trim a petty stage, and reading myself an address 
to the people at the close of the exhibition. It was only about four 
minutes long, giving them good advice of course ! and I read it for I 
had not confidence to gpeak it." 

Those who had the iier.ns and children who manifested talent, se- 
cured for them a better education. Sam. Deall, Jr., was sent from Ti- 
conderoga to England to study from his ninth to his sixteenth year, and 
his daughters wero aftcfward? sent to New York to school, and his feons 
to Middlebury and Bchcnectaily. 

SecL. XVI -Religious Eeminiscenees. 
Old men, with couuteuances showing age from the marks of time 
and of life-wisdom, but uiade youthful nevertheless by inward upright- 
ness and steady pietj, w'so we;;- in our town early, and whose lives 
have proved that upon tlo z^acal faith and works of a community de- 



38 "WHAT TICONDEROGA DuE3 

■ponds its progress, bear important witness to the neglected but all-im- 
portant facts of our early religious history. "When we came here in 
.1800-9," they say, "there was no man to care for our souls. We 
came, most of us, from New England. We had been trained to love 
the Bible and to uphold the church and ministry which expound the 
Word of God as the law of life. Pious men were here, but they were 
few, separated, and without organization, leader, or instructor. Some 
of us used to cross the lake to IShoreham and other towns in Vermont 
to receive the instruction and consolation of religious esercises. Now 
and then a minister from Vermont preached for us at some neighbor's 
dwelling or in a school house. We bad traveling missionaries, too, at 
times, who come on horse-back or more often on foot, to explain the 
Book of Truth to the people. The absence of regular religious in- 
struction and worship was felt in the community by the greater preva- 
lence of a covetous spirit, Avant of refinement, unkindness between 
neighbors, litigation, drunkenness, and private immorality. Not that 
we were worse than other towns deprived of religious priviliges, for 
these evils arise everywhere where the Bible is not studied and obeyed. 
We had what were called "reading meetings," in which a deacon or 
some active member of the church led the exercises and read a printed 
sermon. Usually these were respectably attended and we remember 
seasons when much good was done to wavering brethren within, and to 
immortal souls without yet unresolved in duty. Some of the good 
men and women with whom we sung and prayed have gone down to the 
grave — and we are going after them — but we remember the precious 
times of old when we sat together, and the voice of praise, thanksgiv- 
ing or supplication, went up from the same seats out of all our hearts, 
even to those seats in Heaven where we hope to sit with them again, 
in the church triumphant ! Many without pastors lived holy lives and 
died in peace. It was between 1815 and 1S20 that we began to think 
of regular ministrations of God's Wotd and of building houses of wor- 
ship. Large meetings had been held before in large private houses, 
in barns, or in the open air." "I was converted," says one, "in yon- 
der barn on that rising hill at the foot of the mountain." "The first 
sermon I ever heard which caused me to resolve to do my duty," says 
another, "was heard as I stood in a stable and the minister preached 
from the barn-floor to people seated on slab-benches, blanketed and 
stayed up in the bay, stable, granary and lofts. I was baptized in n 
barn ; /in such a neighbor's house ; I where the willows bend over 
such a flowing stream ; and /through a square hole cut in the ice of 
Lake IToricon. We remember few families in this period who main- 
tained family worship ; few who thoroughly understood their Bibles or 
the practical duties of life ; for all were sheep without a shepherd. — 
And if we had preaching it was not always so instructive, so enlighten- 
ed, or so arousing, as homely, practical, and adapted to common minds. 
It led onward, perhaps, but not much wpirnrd. Our exhorters came, 
not from the seminary and the study, but from the plow, the axe, and 
from practical life ; whereas they ought to have come, not from one of 
"these means of preparation, but from all of them harmonized and com- 
b'tne^. Brief, energetic, unstudied, but powerful words were uttered 
then us now by practical men, illiterate, yet esruest and full of piety. 



WHAT TICONDEEOGA DOES.' 39 

AVe blessetl God that tbough unlearned and ignorant of many things, 
we could yet know the path of duty, ol^ joy, and of eternal liCo. Wu 
bad little money to pay for the Gospel, but it wa.s borne to us without 
price upon the wings of human benevolence, and of providential eur- 
roundinga. Yet without actual organization and effort we had difficul- 
ty in maintaining our own strength and failed to exert much positive iu- 
fluence for the purification and elevation of society." 

Such is the account old men give us of the religious history of their 
first years in the century. It is sad and humble, true-hearted and full 
of simplicity. No upright heart can dwell upon it without interest. 

Sect XVII— -Town Eecorcls. 

Crownpoint and Willsboro', it will be remembered, in their original 
limits, embraced the whole county of Essex. Ticonderog^j Moriah, 
Westport, Elizabethtown, Schroon, Minerva, Newcomb, North Hud- 
son, and a part of Keene, were all included iu Crownpoint previous to 
JSOO, together with the present town of that name, making a territory 
of about nine hundred square miles. 

Ticonderoga was separated from Crownpoint in 1S02, and its first 
recorded Town meeting was in 1804. The record of cattle and sheep 
marks begins as early as 1794. 

We extract from the Town Records a few curious items on wolves, 
foxes, crows, black birds, school districts, roads and bridges, and sla- 
very. 

WolveSf 1805. "Voted, that Forty Dollars be rai.sed for the pur- 
pose of Destroying Wolves, and that five Dollars be paid to any Per- 
son that does actually Ketch and Kill a full grown W^olf within the' 
limits of this town, until the whole sum of 40 dollars be Expended."' 
Thirty dollars was raised, and expended in the same way, the next year. 
In 1808, twenty-five dollars was raised, of which two dollars and fifty 
cents should be paid for "each whelp killed." In 1812 the same 
bounty was offered for "each whelp that can walk alone." In 1814 
the definition was made more specific still, embracing "each whelp 
which is not able to take care of itself, provided they have their tn/et 
open and can see.'''' This last foray against the innocent peepers must 
have swept the race, for after this we find no more votes about wolves. 

Foxes, 1811. "Voted, that eight dollars be raised for the purpose 
of destroying Foxes, and that tweniy-fiye cents be paid for killing 
each," &c. 

Croivs and BladMnls, 1811. "Voted, that ten dollars be raised 
for the purpose of destroying Crows and Blackbirds, three cents for 
each crow, and one cent for each black bird." 

School Districts. June 20, 1813, Samuel Biglow, Francis Arthur, 
and Levi Wilcox, Commissioners of Schools divided the town into six- 
school districts, "in conformity to the requisitions of the Act entitled 
Ad Act for the establishment of Common Schools, passed the 19th day 
of June, 1812." The Town Records are largely taken up, thereafter, 
with accounts of changes in the boundaries of these districts. Every 
year conferences were necessary, and diligent care required for the in- 
terests of education. Ail honor to these early School Commissioners. 

Roads and Bridges. From 1804 to 1820 the Records overflow with 
reports of coramissione-rs appointed to lay out roads. Few who travel 



40 



\VHAT TICONDEROGA DOES. 



thiak how much of care, <3iscussion and ability was required, to inter- 
sect a town properly with highways. Commorf roads are works of pub- 
lic importance. To lay out the roads and erect the bridges of a single 
town, with all the conflicting array of local interests, is by no means a 
Ibol's business. The Upper Falls bridge was rebuilt in 1807 and sixty 
dollars raised for that purpose. Bridges had existed at the Lower 
Falls from the earliest military possession of the territory. , 

Slavery. The only trace of this institution which tradition or pub- 
lic documents have afforded us relating to Ticonderoga, is the following 
record, made about the time abolii.ion was thoroughly begun by the 
laws of the State. "A record of the birth of a female black child. — 
This may certify that I, John Arthur, of the town of Ticonderoga, 
Essex Co., State of New York, have had a female black child born 
(the services of which I claim) by the name of Sylva, which child was 
born on the eleventh day of December, the year one thousand eight 
hundred and fourteen. Given under my hand this eighth day of De- 
cember, 1815. John Arthur." 1827 put an end to Slavery and its 
claims in the State. 

Stray Cattle, ISOS. "Voted that the cow-yard of Kichard Handee 
be appi'opriated for the use of a Pound, and that he be pound-keepet." 
Several yards in different parts of the town were afterwards made 
pounds and their owners pound keepers, but the town does not appear 
to have ever had any regular enclosure for the purpose. 

Sn^cr visors. "We append a list of the Supervisors of the town from 
its organization to tho present time. Nothing, fixes the character of a 
town more than the efforts of its prominent men, and nothing shows 
the character of the people better than the names of those whom they 
held in sufficient esteem to make their officers. 



]S04-8. Levi Thompson. 
1S09. Manoah Miller. 
1810-11. Peter Deall. 
1812-14. Ebenezer Douglass. 

1815. Levi Thompson. 

1816. Ebenezer Douglass. 
1817-20. "William Kirby. 
1821. Francis Arthur. 
1822-23. Isaac Kellog. 
1824-26. Ebenezer Douglass. 
1827-28. Joseph S. Weed. 

1829. Almeron Smith. 

1830. Joseph S. Weed. 

1831. Almeron Smith. 
1832-33. Joseph Weed. » 

1834. Joseph S. Weed. 

1835. Melancton W. Blin. 
1836-37. John Smith. 

1858. William 



1838. Levi Thompson. 

1839. John H. More. 

1840. Levi Thompson. 

1841. Henry B. Hay. 
1842-43. Thomas J. Treadway. 

1844. Palmer M. Baker. 

1845. Geo. R. Andrews, 

1846. George Grant. 

1847. Joseph Weed. 

1849. Cornelius Tan Veghten, 
and Johnathan Burnett. 

1850. Francis Arthur. 

1851. William E. Calkins. 

1852. Levi Thompson. 
1853-54. William E. Calkins. 

1855. Moses T. Clough. 

1856. Henry F. Hammond. 
1S57. Benj. H. Baldwin. 
E. Calkins. 



Francis Arthur was town clerk from 1807 to 1820. Amotig the 
School Commissioners and Inspectors we often find the names of Wil- 
liam Calkins, Lucius C. Larrabee, Dr. John Smith, and Hon. Johna- 
than Burnett. It is a fault that town records are allowed to be so 



What ticondeeoca Tjoes. , 41 

rncager. WLat an iatorosting series of docimiciit& if tlicy were mado 
to embrace, as they should, an anuual record of every public improve- 
ment and of every important event, in the industrial, educational, so- 
cial, and moral history of the town. Private papers, however, ledgers, 
and tbc keen memory cf experienced business men, are very good au- 
thorities, which we have for the following sections. 

Sect. XVIII.— Lumber Susiness. 

A delight to the lumberman was Ticonderoga with its surroundings, 
at the opening of the century. To commence with, the town itself was 
very heavily timbered ; and, in the nest place, it was iho outlet of a 
large lumber region. Thirty miles on both sides of Lake Horlcon 
stood in wilderness, and toward Schroon were lake Pharoab, Putts 
Creek, Pyramid Pond, Paradox Lake, Alder Brook, Alder Sleadow, 
Crane Pond, Long Pond and Brant Lake. From all these places tim- 
ber come to and through Ticonderoga. We -have g.iven the names, iu 
order according to the comparative amount of timber yielded by each 
locality. Lake Horicon standing first. Perhaps few places exist where 
so much lumber could be manufactured and brought to one point. It 
was an immense pine-timbered country, well supplied with .water-pow- 
er. Lumber lay on each side of the creek below the lower falls, for 
half a mile, as far back and as high as it could bo piled, just at the 
great commercial highway of Champlain. At the upper faJJs the wa- 
ter was filled with logs and tie land covered with timber, until the busy 
mills, running night and day, were almost shut out of sight by the fruits 
of their own labor. About 25 saw mills have existed in town, of 
which about 16 v/ere in operation during the most prosperous period of 
the lumber business. The work of about 40 saw mills canio through 
the town to find an outlet by the lake. 

The lumber trade of Ticonderoga began as early as 1S14 and kept 
on until 1820, when it received a great impulse by the openiDg of the 
Champlain Canal. From 1S.30 the business was very brisk up to 1840 
and even to 1S44, since which time it has very much diminished. Its 
highest point of activity and profitableness was during the years of 
1834-35 and 36. In each of these years an amount of lumbev was 
exported which is cficulated to have been equal, all kinds together, to 
800,000 pieces of plank. 

Of this large business, perhaps two-thirds was under the efHcient con- 
trol of Mr. Joseph Weed. About 30 teams were employed in the 
summer, and at logging and all about 150 in the wiuter. Mr. Weed.gent 
out one year 340 boat loads of lumber (each then containing about 3000 
"pieces) and one winter day had 150 loads drawn by his door. Some 
spruce and hemlock were obtained from lake Horicon, also an immense 
amount of four feet timber for lathes. Among others who were ex- 
tensively engaged in the lumber trade, were John Harris, William and 
Warner Cook, RussqU Bly, and Alonzo Moses. 

Busy, indeed, wore the winters then for man and beast. .Early up 
and off in the moruioij, late and tired in at night, large loads, a bufr'ct 
with cold snaps and drifts now and then, euough good cheer at shanty 
and log heap, and pretty rouud solid pjiy, made up the life of the luuu- 
bermau. Merchants had heavy bubinoss, but the credit system unhap - 
V ;!•; made it unsafe with mtmy JiUmbcring, while it (juii.-kencd other 



42 WHAT TICOXDEROGA DOES. 

biane!ac3 of industry, was perhaps injurious to agriculture. Much Ij.ay 
was fed out in the woods, so that the farm that produced it received no 
jnauurc from the refuse. Stock at home could not- be well aftcudcJ 
to by the lumbermen in the wiutcr, and their own teams, jaded and 
worn, were hardly ready for the plow in the spring. Yet lumbering 
cleared up the wood?, opened commercial highways, set millions of 
money moving, and prepared the rural districts for the agricultural pe- 
riod, now in progress. 

Lumbering is over, for the most. Of plank, boards and joice Ticon- 
deroga now manufactures about 300,000 pieces a year, of which about 
half is pine und the rest hemlock, spruce, and hard-wood. This is 
mainly the work of three mills remaiuiug at the upper falls, the rest 
haviug been burnt in 1853. A second growth on some of the old 
grounds is advancing; but, for the present, the hay rack has superseded 
the lumber sleigh in Ticonderoga, binders are turned into hoe-handlcs 
and bush-hooks into sheep-shears. 

Sect. XlX.—Iron Business in Forge and Furnace- 

A forge was put in operation at the Upper falls by the father of Beers 
Tomblcbon as early as the year 1800, or before. Liberty Newton built 
a forge at the same water power about ISOL A third fire was kindled 
up soon after, so that forge* flames blazed in three places, one on the 
north bank of the fall, one in the place since occupied by Mr. Miller's 
a.<e factory, and one below the present site of Mr. Ive's lead mill. Ore 
was brouglkt on the lake from the vast deposits around Port Henry ; 
none from Ticonderoga worth mentioning. A good many dabbled in 
the forgo business but with little profit. Perhaps Joseph Weed and 
George Grant did most and best. In 1814 Mr. Weed began a pros- 
perous business with two fires antl continued it two years. Iron v^s 
very high during the war. But Mr. George Grant has been our prin- 
cipal iron-maker. -Tiie fire on th.e ngrth side and the lower one at the 
upper falls were run by Mr. Grant quite prosperously till about 1835, 
the man of large heart and stalwart frame working in the forge himself 
Ti'out Brook Valley heard the heavy beat of the forge hammer from 
•1848 to 1850, in the establishment of Mr. Asa P. Delano. It had 
lieard the grinding of stones, the. shaking of sieve*, the filing of sawe 
and rattle oF plank since, 1835 in the grist mill and saw Inill built on 
its oKocllenl water pawer by '\^;arnci»- Cook, and prosperously conducted 
by Um and by Wm. H. Cookj hl^son, up <^ 1845. But the fisher- 
man who follows up the brook and creek now will find no trace of forge 
fices, save where the moss and saw-dust overlie the old foundations or 
the trout lui;k in the crannies of old flooms and water gates. If a hun- 
ter wanders west towards Schroon he will find a min.e, owned by Mr. 
Alpheus Weed, from which about 1000 tons of ore arc taken annually, 
and see traces also of an indefinite amount iu untouched deposits. 

Furnaces were needed, long before they appeared in Ticonderoga, to 
cast plough points, stoves, cog-wheels, waggon boxes and the various ar- 
ticles in iron rc(jaircd by the farmer and mechauic. Mr. tlohn Porter 
& Sons have built and run all our furnaces. The first was put in op- 
eration in 1832. Mr. Porter threw up blacksmithing for the time and 
entered enei'getieally into the casting business^ but he thinks he must 
liave run behind SjOOOin the fir.-^t few years, for want of skillful hands. 



WHAT TICOiNDEROGA r,iOE3. 43 

It was an old fasliioncJ pociet farnaco in wliicli tlic ii'on waa mellecl by 
running the metal into the fire, somewhat as lath are macic b^ running 
slit-plank against the saw. He had scon founders cast; he knew the 
theory of his business ; but the want of experienced and practical hands 
kept him back. In 1S40 he erected a cupola furnace. Then he com- 
menced doing something. He had better hands ; his sons had cow be- 
come skillful workmen, and business prospered. Several plans of stoves 
were invented by him, one boat stove, two box stoves, one cook stove, 
and one parlor stove. None of 'Porter's stoves,' though well known 
and highly appreciated, were ever patented. Besides these, plows, 
waggon boxes, and all kinds of machinery were cast, and many of the 
products of the foundry exported. This furnace stood at the north side 
of the lower falls. It was burnt in 1851, and another, now in prosper- 
ous operation, erected on its ruins. Another furnace was erected in 
1S56 by Francis and Truman Porter, standing in an odd position on a 
ledge that makes the Arthur grist mill water-fall, there sweating and 
smoking for the good of the town. The Upper Village never had a 
furnace ; but three now stand at the Lower Village, all of the cupola 
style. 

Iron turning or the usual business of the Machine Shop was per- 
formed first in Ticonderoga by Mr. McHerd in the shop of B. JP. Fra- 
zier at the lower bridge, about 1S38. Before thi.«, individuals wishing 
such work done were obhgcd to go to Vergenucs in Vermont and spend 
three or four days to accomplish from three to four dollars worth of re- 
pairs. In 1852 Mr. McHerd built a machine shop at the Lower Vil- 
lage and did a prosperous business in it for several years. Its-lathes 
now turn wood and iron for the mechanics and machinery of the town. 

Sect- XX.— Blacksmith's Business, 

The only houses at the Upper Village in 1797 were Levi Colo's and 
Capt. Elijah Bailey's. Levi and Samuel Cole, hia son, were black- 
smiths, probably the first of our town, if we except those connected 
with its military occupants. Michael Spieer, and Chellis Johnson from 
Granville, with Dyer Beckwith, worked at the anvil here as early as 
1800. In 1805 our town numbered among its blacksmiths, besides 
these, Eleazer Spears, Benona Thornton, Oliver Ormsbey, Peter Ath- 
erton, E. Sherman, and Samuel Dow, brother to Lorenzo, the famous 
preacher. Levi and Samuel Cole built a trip hammer forge on the 
north side of the lower falls. John Porter with hia sons, and John 
Pinchin and sons, have been our principal blacksmith!?. Miv Porter be- 
gan as early as 1811 ; Mr. Pinchin came to town to establish a perma- 
nent business May 18, 1819. Thelumber t*iiaB and sleighs and chains' 
furnished a brisk trade. 

In those times a man was oftdti a great drunkard as well as a great 
blacksmith. , If, when business pressed, a boy wished to got his horses 
shod first, all he haj,il to do was to buy a boitle oi mm and tip tlie wink 
to the man at the anvil : 'This, my hearty, to Jou if that team is serv- 
ed first.' So it happened, as one tells us, tbafe "of courgf, we always 
had rum enough." Not a few bickerings and broils, not a little finan- 
cial embarrassment, poor work, and misery in the family, to say noth- 
ing of profanity, idlenes.s, and corrupt oxamplcs to the young, were the 
result of this prevailing drunkenue:;.?. But we get a gleam of wit and 



44 \:'.].\y t:.:o:CiJi::.o:;a ijOi:.i 

Yaukec drollery uow auJ then out of tlic midst of tilings worse. It i:? 
a curious fact that men who work continually by the beat of the lap- 
stone or the rinc: of the anvil have often made rhymes. Michael Spi- 
oer 'and John Piuchin were men of keen insight into character, and of 
naturally vigorous though uncultivated intellects. Both are responsi- 
ble for countle.ss rhymes and nicknames, which, thour^h never written 
elsewhere than in the memories of their neighbors, ivill not soon be for- 
gotten or cease to bo told over. We copy a few of them, not for their 
poetry, or perfect metre, , nor always ior their wit, but for the im- 
promptu quickness with which they were always delivered. It will bo 
easy to keep Spicer's name in mind, for 

Two nails-aacl a spiko, spoil Old Uncle ?inko. 
On one occasion a customer enquired the price of JInckerel, when thoy 
were six to nine cents a pound, remarking that ho had "got sort of tired 
of pork and wanted fish for a change." Uncle Mike stood by the coun- 
ter and sai-d : 

"Noiglibor, I'll tell the ti-uth if that's your wish ;" 

"Go on," said the neighbor. 

'•For want of pork, you Ijuy the fish.'' 

At a quarterly meeting of the Methodist Church at which Mike's 
brother wa.s presiding elder, some two hundred people were obliged to 
wait at the doors till the openins; love feast should terminate. Mike's 
ft-hyme, raising his veioe to be heard by all, was, 

•'•'Well, brother, we're Ihaukful to you the power "s not given 
To shut the door aud keep us out of Heaven."' 

Of a maa unhappily defdrmcJ, Mike perpetuated the memory by 
asking : 

"How long on earth do you abide, 

AV'ith your crooked neck and yoiu" head one side r" 

Finding a drunken man in the road he, extemporized as follows : 

'•Son$elo?s and stiff", if dead no matter. 

Here lies poor drunken Reuben Potter. 
Ho fell ai victim to rum alone. 
From StowcU's jug aud not his own."' 

lie quickened tiie step of an indolent boy once by calling out : — 

"Jim, you're a lazy sinner, 
You outrun your father going to diuucr. 
But lag behind in going to work 
Like a lazy shirk."' 

Appollos Austin, a wealthy citizen of Orwell, once offered to give 
"i^Iike a new fur hat if he would make a rhyme about it in three seconds. 
Taking off his own head-cover courteously, Mike instantly responded: — 

" This old hat 

Is greasy aud fat. 
Itts as good as the rest of my raiment ; 

[f I buy any better 

They'll set mc down debtor, 
Aud send mo to jail for the pa} mcnt."' 

John Pinchiu has had a nickname for every man in town. Every 

boy, wc believe, under sixteen years of age, is called "Jotbam." 

A public spirited citizen goes by the name of ?'King Dor." From 
certaio circumstances certain men have icccivod from him such incom- 



WHAT TICONDEROlIA IjOES. ^15 

prclicnsible names a.-; "KuowlcJgo," "Piasp," "Polk," "Bum ;" two 
of his sons are called "Tuck" and "Bud," and one of liis daugliters 
"\york Pocket ;" one man "Pout," anotber "IToney-Comb." A cit- 
izen of peculiar reputation was called "Fiery Serpent ;" a fat lawyer 
''Cullipbant," and another of the same profession, "Sneaky." — 
^\'o have not space for his rhymes,. though he has luaclc one on ucaily 
every prominent citizen and event of the town. 

In 1847 the firm of Wilson & Calkins built a blacksmith's shop ; an- 
other was erected by the firm of Bishop & Austin, and their rivalry 
j^ave an immense impulse to blacksraithiug. The Poit Henry Iron Com- 
pany built seven canal-boats and one schooner at Ticonderoi^a the same 
year, and most of their irons were fitted on the anvils of the Lower Vil- 
lage. Business had been very brisk, for a country town, however, from 
1838. Nelson Porter affirms that he has often seen thirty horses at 
his brother's shop door, waiting to be shod, while they were working 
with a double crew, night and day, from 183S to 1846. We must not 
forget to mention among the workers of iron who have benefitted our 
town, C. P. Sawyer, at the Back Street; Tolman and D. T. Spicer on 
Chilson Hill ; Silas Gibbs, a thorough workman, at Weedsville since 
1830; L. Thatcher a^ the Lower Village for 30 years; and Hopkins 
Norton at the uppper falls. There are twelve men now engaged at the 
bellows and anvil in Ticonderoga ; there were seventeen from 183S to 
1846. In 1847 the rival firms largely augmented this number. It is 
tSought that blacksmi'thing pays better now than twenty years ago. 

Sect. XXI.— Meclianic's Business. 

^juther Stoddard and Abel Potter were the principal wheelwrights 
of Ticonderoga previous to 1837. Joshua Holcomb first began busi- 
ness at the Back Street and continued it for thirty ycais at the Upper 
Village. He was an energetic man, of thorough habits and much husi- 
n-ess ability, and conducted a large amount of work up to 1840, which 
terminated gradually about 1844. In 1845 Mr. J. B. Bamsay built the 
shop at the Lower Village -which has been occupied since 1S47 by him, 
assisted by from one to four brothers. A larger amount of work is now 
done here than the town has required of any former establishment. — 
From 12 to 15 waggons, mostly light ; from 5 to 10 sulkies ; and from 
20 to 25 cutters, make up the usual work of a year. It wdl be seen 
what supply Ticonderoga requires by the fact that nearly one-half of 
this work goes to Putaara, Crownpoint, Shorcham, Bridport and Orwell, 
neighboring towns. Standing on a rapid branch of the creek, this shop 
has the benefit of machinery 'for sawing, boring and tenanting, Mr. 
Wm. M. Wiley corpmenced work as a carriage maker at Weedsville in 
TSIB^. From 4 to 6 waggons a year, 4 to sulkies, from 4 to 5 lum- 
ber sleigliS; 4 to plvcleton cutters in the winter, some sleigh woods 
without the irons, a large amount of repairing on waggons, and a doz- 
en or so of plough woods, make up with him the usual annual amount 
of work. In 1848 Mr. Wiley's new shop at Vveodsville was built, in 
which a quiet and thorough business now progresses, some of it also for 
custom outside of the town. Dennis Maxham, having begun work with 
Mr. Holcomb at the Upper Village in 1828, has carried on a wheel- 
wright shop of his own at Weedsville since 1840. The two story red 
building in which, for the last fourtccQ years, he ha.g been found, ready 



V.iiAl TICONIjEUOGA bUCS. 



to do all klrulri of lueohanical business in his line for the town, ^yas- 
])uilt in 1844. Mr. Maxliam represents his business as variable, some 
winters 7 or S heavy sleighs and 2 or 3 cutters, and then 2 or 3 heavy 
sleighs and 7 or 8 cutters, with 2 or 3 large wa^i^gons and 3 or 4 bug- 
gies in the summer, much work in repairing and in fitting of woods for 
n;ilc without irons. Very little of this work goes out of town. Two 
light waggons built by jMp. Maxham and son attracted much admiration 
and received the first premium at the First Fair of the Farmers' and 
Mechanics' As-socialion of Tieonderoga. 

Amon^ Cahinel-makcrs Nathan S. Clark was early engaged in a con- 
siderable business. The coffin of Peter Deal!, son of Samuel Deall the 
founder of the town, made by Mr. Clark, was disinterred after thirty 
years and some of the veneers of mahogany were left. B, F. Frazier 
commenced business in Ticonderoga in Dec, ^835. Ilis first work for 
tlie town was, in connection with his brother, to bnild a 'planing and 
matching mill on the north of the lower falls, in which for 10 years 
they carried on quite a prosperous business. Nearly 100,000 pieces of 
plank, mostly for exportation, wore planed the first year in this coun- 
try mill, but since the decline of the lumber trade this business in Ti- 
conderoga has entirely ceased. For the last fourteen years, though pro.s- 
perously engaged for a time with Madison Bailey as a wheelwright, 3Ir. 
Frazier has been the only cabinet-maker of the town, irregularly assist- 
ed by never more than one journeyman or apprentice. Thirty to 50 
bedsteads all sold in town, 30 to 50 tables, with sofas, stands, centre 
tables, picture frames, beehives, — two models of which he h-^s largely 
improved and one excellent style entirely invented — make up, with cof- 
fins, the usual annual amount of work. ' It is a curious fact illustrating 
how often one of death's arrows falls in the vicinity of some twenty 
milesi square to which Mr. Frazier's trade extends, that he is called up- 
on to make about 52 coffins a year, or one a week, large and email. 

In the manufacture of barrels, hogsheads, butts and tubs of various 
kinds, Wm. IM. ^Viley, already mentioned among the wheelwrights, 
carried on business at Weedsville from 1848 to 1857, making from 400 
to SOO a year. The barrel f\tctory of L. II. Wolcott, running during 
the past two years on the north side of the lower falls, with machinery 
for sawing, turning heads, joining staves, &c., has done a prosperous 
business. In one of those years, 1025, and in the other 1411 barrels 
were made and exported, all to New York, except one stray batch of a 
hundred to Burlington. 

Sect. XXII —Mercantile Buciness. 

A brief sketch is presented in this section of the fluctuations of trade 
and the successions of firms in a country town for a period of some- 
thing more than one hundred years. Aside from all local importance 
the facts possess a general interest. The record commences previous 
to the revolution ; it presents the merchant at the opening of new set- 
tlements ; it describes hhn struggling with the difficulties of transport- 
ation from distant markets before the opening of canals and railways ; 
it follows him through tlie enlarged patronage created by the lumber 
trado ; it chronicles his disasters undot commercial revulsions ; it exhib- 
its the changes wrought in his business by the gradual movements of 
society about him, and it every where proves thafj-while his succcso 



WHAT TICONDEROGA DOES. 

largely subsefves it also strictly depends upon tbc general prosperity. 

As trading establishmeots are best known by their locality we shall 
as far as possible take up each spot thus used and give the lii;t of its 
occupants separately. 

The Old King''s Store. This building stood near the present steam- 
boat landing from Chaniplain at Ticonderoga, and was erected and oc- 
cupied by the French in 1755, the year in which the Old Fort was 
built. It was an important store-house for the garrison and armies 
during the Old French War and the Revolution. While Judge Charles 
Hay was living at Fort George at the head of lake Horicon, a Mr. Nes- 
bit kept store for him in this building, first merchant of Ticonderoga af- 
ter the independence of the colouies. Customers came from Yermout 
and the towns adjoining Ticonderoga (then Crownpoint) to this trading 
establishment as early as 1795. The infamous conduct of Nesbit ha^ 
already been mentioned. A large cargo of merchandise was sent to him 
by Judge Hay, also cattle, implements and grain to start a farm ; but 
Nesbit, in some way, fovfid a cash market for the whole, pocketed the 
proceeds, crossed the lake to Vermont, and seems never to have receiv- 
ed h'ls lawful punishment as a thief and robber. The Old King's 
Store was next occupied by Judge Hay and family and for years as ho- 
tel, store, church and town-house, was the centre of the vicinity. 

StouiiJUon and Dealt. From the letters of Samuel Deall in Section 
X. it will be eeen that Lt. John Stoughton began a trading establij^h- 
meut near the lower falls ^ early as 1767. Mr. Stoughton sold the 
goods ; Mr. Deall was a partner resident in New York city, of whose 
large mercantile establishment there this Ticonderoga store seem.s to 
have been only an outpost. Among the articles sent on for sale were 
powdered sugar, molasses, cloths, and abundant supplies of Jat)iaica 
spirits, so "very fine and high" that it would take "at least six gallons 
of Water to each of the casks to bring them dowa to common llum." 
SLipped from New York by sloops to Albany, the goods wero there met 
by waggons and transported ovev land to the head of lake Horicon. — 
This was a tedious, costly, and somewhat dangerous method of convey- 
ance. "I pray you" writes Mr. Deall, "to send a careful hand and 
not trust to those Dutch Waggoners." It was in bringing goods by boat 
through lake Horicon that Lt. Stoughton lost his life by drowning. Ho 
seems, indeed, to have been merchant in Ticonderoga only from April 
to December, eight short months in 1767. Mr. Deall appears to have 
continued the store With his otiher improvements up to the opening of 
the Kevolution. Shingles, rod cedar posts^ and now and then a load '■)i 
fat veniiij^n, \yere the cspcSTfs of the town at this period. 

Kellog dnd Douglass. Judge Isaac Kellog, already mentioned as a 
man of talent and an influential member of the State Legislature, open- 
ed a store on the rocks just east of the bridge at the Upper Village, as 
early as ISOO. After several years of business alone, he was joined a:? 
a partner by Ebcaezer Douglass, also a judge, and this firm appears to 
have continued up to 1814. The business at that day was, of course, 
sniciU, and the expense.'! of transportation great. 

John and Timothy Harm hegifx trade ia the Yellow Store at the 
west end of the Hotel at the Upper A'illage in lS-13. John Harris con- 
tmucd it prosperously down to lb32, finding the years previous to 1S2() 
the most successful. For a public-.-piritcd and energetic man, like Mr 



4S WHAT 'I'ICONDEROGji DOEi-. 

Harris, the mercantile business at this flay presented an attractive field 
of activity. Crossinsf to the roads' ot Vermont in summer and on the 
ice of Chara plain in winter, the transportation waggons were usually 
eight days in bringini;; goods from Albany and Troy to Ticonderoga by 
laud, for which the charges were from eight to ten shillings a hundred. 
A dollar, of course, v/as worth more then than now- John A. Arthur 
was trading at the lower falls in IS 13 and onward, but Harris having 
the then more central station, was doing most. Dyer Spencer traded 
at the Upper Village from 1S32 to 1835", a part of the time in the 
Yellow Store. 

Weed and Dous;lass. In 1S16 Joseph AVeed, destined to hold a 
prominent place in the mercantile operations as well as the lumber trado 
of Ticonderoga, became a partner with Ebenezer Douglass, formerly of 
the firm of Kellog & Douglass, in the same store on the granite foun- 
dations on the east bank just above the upper falls. The business was 
.'^midl in amount, and the expenses great, being subject to the outgoes 
for transportation from distant cities already iiientioned. Weed & 
Douglass continued their partnership for seven years, when the former 
began business alone in 

The Old Red Siore, at the Upper Village. From 1823 to 1838 tliia 
building, under the control of Joseph Weed, contained some ot the 
best assortments and was the scene of the heaviest mercantile business 
ever carried on by a single man in Ticonderoga. The lumber trade, 
employing during the latter part of the period mentioned iiearly all the 
industry of the town and having Mr. Weed for its principal centre, 
brought him a large patronage. It is estimated that the business of 
this store for about ten years previous to 1838 amounted to over $100,- 
000 amiually, suflicieutly extensive for a country town, but unhappily, 
owino- to the free aHowance of credit, not always substantial and re- 
munerative. Among the stores started hy the patronage of the lum- 
ber trade at the Upper Village, wore that of A. H. Coats, begun in 
1836 and closed in 1S3S ; and the grocery store of P. M. Baker, pros- 
perously carried on from 1&32 to 1844, when its enterprising proprie- 
tor built the store now bearing his name at the Lower Village. A 
prompt, "one price'' man, his peculiar letter m;irk to bantering custoniT 
grSiWas: '■'' Take it, or leave it !^^ Salamander safes had not come into* 
fashion at that day it would appear from the anecdotes of some who 
borrowed money at this grocery store. The bills, to the amount of sev- 
eral thousand dollars, were often found in old tFa chests, or in the cor- 
ner with garret rubbish, or stowed away under an empty flour-barrel, 
apparently in supreme carelessness of rats, mice an'd thieVcs, bauj nev- 
ertheless, always at the command of the owner. 

Stores North of the Creek. In giving the history of tiie stores at 
the Lower Village, attention is first drawn to several old buildings north 
of the creek, built when the south side was yet largely uncleared of 
brush and timber. John Arthur traded in the old Tefft house as early 
as 18 10. John A. Arthur, his son, built the small stove opposite 
Tefi"t's Hotel and traded there in 1814. Two years after, ]'idwavd 
A'aughn having taken his place in this building, be built the bouse now 
occupiod by J^lr. Snow, and opened it as a store. In the old building 
three doors north east of the lower bridge Wheeler & Blin ti-adcd in 



WHAT TICOXDEROGA DOKS. 49 

1S26, Park Freeman in i82{J-7, and Runiscy & Wheeler iu 1829. — 
There have been seven different stores north of the creek. 

The Jos. S. Weed Store. In 1820, Tioonderoga received an import- 
ant accession to the ranks of its enterprising merchants in the person 
of Joseph S. Weed, from Saratoga County, N. Y. He built a largo 
store — now empty and going to decay — below the lower h\h on the 
south bank, /ind brought to it in 1820 a boat load — one of the first that 
passed Champlain canal — of merchandise, from which one of the larg- 
est and most complete assortments the town had seen was set forth for 
sale. For five years he carried on here a heavy business. The travel 
between the lakes then crossed the long bridge — now replaced only by 
a foot draw-bridge — and followed the readjust below his store. Innu- 
merable loads of lumber were piled on the banks about his locality ev- 
ery winter, to be taken by scores of boats out of the creek every spring. 
The spot for the store was well chosen, but its proprietor was to erect 
another for the town. 

The Old Weedh Store at Weedsville, was built by Joseph S. Weed, 
together with the brick house — one of the best iu the village — on the 
lot adjoining, in 1828. Gen. Weed — for this was one of the titles of 
the builder whose name is also on the list of supervisors— occupied it; 
for five or six years in partnership with Richard D. Arthur. J. H. 
More & Co., David Smith k. Co., George Grant, and Grant & C. Van 
Veghten, were temporary occupants of this store till 1838. In that 
year Joseph Weed, having purchased the premises of Mr. Grant for 
$7500, removed his large business from the upper falls and made 
this store the centre of that part of the Lower Village, which, from his 
improvements and those of Joseph S. Weed before him, is known as 
Weedsville. Joseph Weed's business continued here till 1842, bearing 
on its sign for several years as partner the name of Wra. E. Calkins, 
then a young man, but to become afterwards one of the most prominent 
and able merchants of the town. Extensive purchases of Ijumber prop- 
erty and of the water power at the lower falls ; the ultimate results of 
the crisis of 1S37; together with large liabilities iu connection with 
others, most of whom failed and threw the burden upon him, brought 
Mr. Weed, between 1840 and 42, much to the loss of the town and sur- 
roundings^ into financial embarassments, from which he has not been 
able to extricate himself, though he has continued some of his business 
operations hitherto and probably will persevere, so long as Providence 
gives him strength to move. 

FieW'i Hat and Booh Store. In 1S21 Hir.ara Fields, hatter and 
bookseller, began business in Ticonderoga as a hatter. The Store and 
House near the south end * and north side of the Central Exchange 

* It is exceeilinoly inconvenient that the streets of Ticonderoga village have 
no names so that it is impossible to designate accm'ately the location of public 
buildings. For iDurposes of convenience iu these Home Sketches we are com- 
pelled to take the liberty of originatiug names for streets, as follows: The street 
running a little west of north from the Fair Grounds past the Brick church, law- 
yers offices, Hotel, and other principal buildings, across the creek, and ending at 
the foot of Mount Hope, we shall call Main Street. The one beginning at the 
storehouses and boat-yards on the creek, rising past the. lower grist mill and ma- 
chine shop, crossing Main Street at right angles, and extending through Weeds- 
ville into Trout Brook Valley, we shall name, from its principal buitding and 
the mercantile and boating business done on it, Exchange Street. On the North 



50 WHAT TICONDEROGA DOES. 

Street was built for lilra in that year by Mr. Blin by contract. Silas 
Mills at the Upper Village appears to have been the fir'^t hatter of Ti~ 
conderoga. The store there occupiecl by Joseph Weed was built for a 
bat-shop, having bay-windows in which hats were bowed. At this pe- 
riod the people depended for hats upon small hat-factories throii<Thout 
the country. The work in making fur hats, carried on by Mr. Fields 
for fifteen years, was sufficiently extensive to employ from three to four 
hands all the while, at wages of from two to four hundred dollars a year. 
A t this shop the fur of the town has always found a ready market, the 
red, cross and silver-grey fox, mink, muskrat, bear, deer, apd now and 
then an otter. Since 1846 Mr. Fields has kept the only book-store in 
town, in fact almost the only exclusive one of the vicinity. In none of 
the neighboring towns, we believe, is there an establisshment like this 
exclusively devoted to books and stationery, musical instruments, guns, 
bats, and all the articles of a Variety Store, so that it receives a grate- 
ful patronage from out of town. Paintings, primraers, doll-babies, whis- 
tles, fish-hooks, jewsharps, combs, fiddle-bows, buttons, brushes, bells, 
pencils, beads, colonge, any amount of candy, gold fish, and men-figure 
clocks with eye-snaps, make Mr. Field's shop the wonder, delight, and 
sore temptation of ail the children. From $2000 to $3000 a year is 
the usual amount of trade. 

Brick Store. This building, standing on the southeast of the four 
corners formed at the Lower Village by the intersection of Main and 
Exchange Streets, was built in 1S32 by Richard D. Arthur, at a cost 
of $2S6o. It was occupied for two years only by Mr. Arthur, when 
the town lost an enterprising citizen in his death. After standing va- 
cant for a, short time, it was occupied by L. Doolittle & Fletcher, a- 
bout two years ; then by Elisha Pike' & L. Doolittle. From 1837 to 

1840 J. H. More traded in it, having, toward the last of this time, as 
partner, Hiram Wilson, a former citizen of Schroon, bringing to the 
mercantile business in this town not ability only but a substantial capi- 
tal. Craige & Harris, and S. More & Powers were firms in it from 

1841 to 1843, when, after standing vacant for a time, it was bought in 
1844 by Hiram Wilson. In 1845'Hiram Wilson and Wm. E. Calk- 
ins, having united their capital, industry and business tact the year be- 
fore in the Exchange, as partners, removed to the Brick Store and made 
it the scene of a thriving trade, amounting to $40,000 a year, up to 
1850. At that time their business became somewhat embarrassed by 
reason of aiding different branches of business in lumber, iron, &c., and 
by yielding too much to the natural tendency of such operations in 
granting credits, a desire to accomodate in many instances being more 
the controlling motive than the wish of profit. They continued busi- 
ness two years longer, when, failing to realize their dues, which largely 

Side of the creek, running fi-om the hotel of James Tefi't past C. Bugbee's Store 
to the Village School house, on account of the trees that fringe the foot of Mt. 
Hope, we have Eh/i. Street. Water Street, if you please, is the road along the 
shore of the Creek from J. Tefft's to the foot of Cottage Hill ; aud from there, 
past the Cold Spring through Gallows Gate, to the old French Lines we ought 
to find Battle Street, on account of the military engagements that have made ev- 
ery foot of that road historic ground. As indicating the direction of the lum- 
ber woods towards Schroon, and of the black lead mines, and as being the en- 
trance thence to the Village, we shall name the North and South road at Weeds- 
dlle corners, Forest Street. 



WHAT TICONDEROGA DOES. 51 

overbalanced their indebtedness, they were advised by their heaviest 
creditors to make an assignment and go into liquidation, and according- 
ly did so in July, 1S52. AVe are informed that their confidential and 
home matters have mostly been paid dollar for dollar, and that the bal- 
ance is in progress of adjustment. G-. C. Weed and J. Q. A. Tread- 
way moved into the Brick Store from the Exchange in Nov., 1854. — 
After a partnership of one year, Mr. Treadway took the business alone 
and has so cootinued it to the present time. Gradually assuming a 
cash basis for his operations, Mr, Treadway'a trade, though it has been 
as high as thirty thousand, stands now ni from $20,000 to 25,000 an- 
nually. 

Bii.ghec's Store. The store on the south side of Elm Street was built 
in 1836 by Mr. Carlos Bugbeo. Notwithstanding the rivalry of nume- 
rous other stores, with which the town then as now was somewhat over- 
stocked, Mr. Bugbee's energy and prudence soon commanded a large 
business for a country merchant, and he had, perhaps, the best assort- 
ments then in town. Agriculture, not having then taken the lead of 
lumbering or even risen in this vicinity to supply a tenth ot its demands^ 
there was a great call for eatables and provisions of all kinds. Of these 
Mr. Bugbee kept the only supplies. From 1838 to 1840' was the best 
season of business, sixty dollars a day being the average, and one hun- 
dred not an unusual trade. Of this, nine dollars out of every ten was 
for pork and flour. These supplies were of course imported, as the 
agriculture of the town did not supply one pound ia twenty of what waa 
sold. Corn was taken at 13 shillings a busljel as fast as it could be 
measured up, and the extraordinary sales of 22 barrels of flour or 20 
barrels of pork have been made from this store in a single day. Much 
the larger part of Mr. Bugbee's trade was with Crownpoint, Schroon, 
and even with distant Moriah. as well as with towns south and across 
Charaplain. From the vast lumber woods of Schroon was paid as much 
to this store as all Ticondei'oga pays now, perhaps 33i per cent, of its 
entire business. But the Hammonds of Crownpoint, with their usual 
liberality and sagacity, having out-rivalled Ticonderoga in generous con- 
tributions to certain public improvements, got the best roads from 
Schroon to their place and so obtained a largo proportion of this trade. 
A sensible diminution of business from the west and north has been 
continually felt by the attraction of this strong firm of Crownpoint. — 
The firm of C. Bugbee & Smith Weed continued fourteen years, Mr. 
Weed leaving in 1855. Since this time Mr, Bugbee's industry has 
conducted alone, a pro.sperous trade, estimated, by business men, at 
from $7,000 to $10,000 a year. 

Treadimy''s Store. Near the west end and on the south side of Cen- 
tral Exchange Street * stands now a vacant store, once the scene of 
more business than is transacted at present by any firm of the town. — 
It was built in 1836 by H. & T. J. Treadway. Their lumber business, 
their farm, and especially their factories, to be mentioned in a subse- 
quent section, drew to their store a trade of over S50,000 a year. — 

* Exchange Street, we are obliged to divide into its three natm-al sections, 
the upper or ■Weedsville, the central, I'rom the bridge along the centre of 
business to the Machiae Shop hill, aud the lower section ft-om the foot of 
this hill to the docks. Upper, central and lo-vfer, correspond to the height of the 
ground. 



52 WHAT TtCONDEROGA DOES. 

Cloth was a main article sold and it had a large market outside of the 
town. This firm closed up its operations in 1845. 

Wcedsville Stores. Under this name we group together several 
stores on Upper Exchange Street, called into existence during the clos- 
infi; years of the lumber activity, and since gradually left vacant from 
lack of business. The Brick Store at Weedsvilie was built in lS38by 
Asa P. Delano, and was occupied for several years by Mr. Delano and 
by L. H. Persons. C. P. Ives and W." A. G. Arthur occupied the 
Delano store from about 1848 to 1S50. There Was an old xcood store 
in existence at Weedsvilie, before the brick, since metamorphosed so 
many times, Lester's harness shop, and now somebody's barn and cow- 
stable, that it has almost lost the appearance of a merchant's home. — 
It was oscupied, nevertheless, by K. P.Delano, and Nelson Rogers, 
a successful lumber merchant of Albany, and afterwards by the firm 
of Delano & Jones. 

The G. C. Weed Store, lately standing at the corner of Upper Ex* 
change and Forest Streets, was built by George C. Weed in 1843 and 
first occupied by Cornelius VanYeghten, — a valued citizen since re- 
moved to the west and turned farmer, — for about three years, and then 
by the firm of Gr. C. Weed & J. Q. A. Treadway, already mentioned, 
from 1847 to 1848. The amount of business was not so large then in 
this location as in Central Exchange St. 

Tkovir;son''s Store, on the lower part, north side of Upper Exchange 
Street, v;as built by George Thompson in 1842. His business was be- 
gun in the basement of his dwelhcg house and continued only a few 
years in his store before his death in 1849. Mr. Thompson was at first 
a boatman, and through no little diihculty and without assistance set in 
vigorous motion a prosperous trading establishment. Active, energet- 
ic, supplying the lack of business acquirements by natural ability, full 
of kindness, public-spirited, and yet young, his death was lamented as 
a heavy loss to the industry and enterprise of the toWn. 

The Exchange. This, in its best state the most imposing building 
of the Lower Village, standing on the north east corner formed by the 
intersection of Main &nd Central Exchange Street, was built in 1842 
by M. A. Perkins. It is ot three stories, and its cost is estimated -at 
over §3000. On the sitp of the Exchange, however, there stood a 
wooden building previously which we may mention under its common 
name of the Blin Store. Some of the firms in it from 1833 were first, 
Wheeler & Blin; then, F. Skiff & L. Doolittle ; then, M. A. Perkins 
& Lathrop Burgc ; then, J. B. & Walter Chipman & Co. Each of 
these firms continued about two years, doing a business so prosperous 
that the larger Exchange was at length demanded. This was first oc- 
cupied by the firm of Walter Chipman & Hiram Wilson, the former 
fi.'0Hi Orwell, the latter already mentioned. Wilson & Calkins occu- 
pied the exchange during the year of 1844. J. M. Bishop & Co. were 
its next occupants from 1845 to 1848. In that Company, G. A. Aus- 
tin, a wealthy citizen of Orwell, had an important part, so that the 
firm was known as that of Bishop and Austin. A strong rivalry, favored 
by other business operations then going on and much to the awakening 
and benefit of the town, existed between Bishop & Austin and Wilson 
& Calkins, the buildings of these two firms facing each other from 
opposite sides of Central Exchange Street. Wilson & Calkins, having 



WHAT TICONDKKOGA DOE.«. 53 

built a blacksmith shop ou Main Street, JJisliop & Austin built the one 
opposite the Post-Office in competition. The impulse thus given to the 
business of the blacksmiths has been mentioned in a previous section. — 
The trade of the firm in the Exchange is estimated to have been $30,- 
000 a year, probably more, ii'or the first year the business of Bishop 
& Austin showed favorably, but in consequence of large advances to 
lumber operators and too general credit, the final profit was small. 

In the fall of 1S4S G-, 0. Weed & J. Q. A. Treadway removed 
their business from Upper Exchange Street and became for sis years 
the prosperous successors of Bishop & Austin. Since 1854, when 
Weed & Treadway crossed to the Brick Store, the whole Exchange, 
yet owned by Harwood of Crownpoint, has been deserted to rats and 
mice. 

BaJcer''s Store. Palmer M. Baker, already mentioned in the list of 
merchants at the Upper Village, erected in 1844, at the cost of $2000, 
a large store on Central Exchange Street, as near the south west cor- 
ner formed by its intersection with Z^Iain Street, as the intervening Ho- 
tel, large additions to which were also built by him, would allow. It 
was prosperously occupied by P. M. Baker till 1849. Alonzo Moses 
entered it in Nov., 1849, but as his lumber business and outgoes swell- 
ed beyond the incomes, this occupancy unhappily terminated by an as- 
signment in July, 1850. From experience as customers during past 
years, the farmers of the town with others resolved to start a U'laon 
Store. Shares were issued ; Wra. H. Cook, Benj. P. Delano, and Jo- 
seph Thompson, farmers, became responsible as Directors for a slock of 
$3,000, and W. F. Jones, former clerk and then keeping an assortment 
of his own in the Baker Store, was chosen to buy goods with this mon- 
ey and sell to the stockholders at seven, and to outsiders at twelve per 
cent, advance of the original cost. This store gave great satisfaction 
to its patrons and had a large trade, Mr. Jones gaining a high charac- 
ter for faithfulness and activity. The necessity created by so small a 
stock of frequent purchases south and then not of a complete assort- 
ment, the unwillingness of two of the directors to be responsible for the 
stock under the arrangements for security, with perhaps some opposi- 
tion from the regular merchants, brought the first Union Store of Ti- 
conderoga to a close after an experience of only two years, from the 
summer of 1,850 to Aug., 1852. Mr. Jones passed into the firm of 
Baker & Jones, to whom the goods of the Union Store had been sold, 
which continued till 1855, when he removed, taking the good wishes of 
the town with him, to a larger field of mercantile business in Glen's 
Falls. Mr. A. P. Wilkie, a young tradesman, took bis place, and since 
1855 the firm of Baker & Wilkie, assisted by the esperienced ability 
of Wm. E. Calkins, in purchase, sale and oversight, has had perhaps 
the largest trade of any store in town, amounting, we are informed, to^ 
$35,000 a year. 

McCormicli's Corner. The building standing at the nol-th-west cor- 
ner formed by the intersection of Main and Exchange streets was 
erected in 1846 and occupied for several years by Chipman & Sunder- 
land as a store. It now contains Mr. J. McCormick's shop, the only 
clothing and tailoring establishment in town. Also the office of II. G. 
Burleigh, known to the town as a young man of enterprise and ability, 
first as a clerk, now as a prosperous lumber-dealer. 



54 • WHAT ticonderoga does. 

Grocirus, of which there arc now seven in town, and transient stores 
like those of A. P. Delano and A. Moses in Trout Brook Valley, we 
Lave space only to mention. A small Store by Mr. Wallace at the 
Street has existed several years. 

A careful review of the above record of a hundred years of mercan- 
tile business in a country town suggests many refiections. 

In Ticonderoo;a there have been three periods particularly distin- 
guished by mercantile activity. The^r^^ was near the opening of the 
Champlain Canal, from 1819 to 1825. The second was during the 
height of the lumber business, say from 1828 to 1842. The town was 
alive then with teams and lumbermen. Food for man and beast, cloth- 
ing, utensils and some luxuries, were in great demand. Credit was giv- 
en freely. "'Trust me till my logs get in ; trust me till that timber is 
sawed ; trust me till this stock of goods is sold ; in short, trust me till 
I can turn my plans into money, and I will pay you," were the commer- 
cial requests of that day. But this trusting until hopes could be turn- 
ed into cash proved often disastrous. The logs, perhaps, were swept 
away by a freshet ; a sudden reverse of business stopped work in the 
lumber woods and mills, or a sudden brightening pushed it beyond the 
contractor's means, and so the merchant failed often to realize his dues 
and consequently to discharge his own indebtedness. The business of 
the merchants during the lumber season, though the largest it has ever 
been, was by no means the safest or the most remunerative. The third 
reason of mercantile activity in Ticonderoga was during the years from 
1842 to 1S4S. A company of capitalists had bought the water power 
at the lower falls, and were prospecting the mountains for mines and 
the streams for sites of forges and factories. Men were filled with the 
idea that Ticonderoga was about to develop its great natural resources, 
and become a city. That joyful hope, so often entertained by our cit- 
izens and so often disappointed that a man who avows it now is almost 
thought a visionary and laughed at, filled the hotels with boarders and 
quickened every branch of industry. But it also induced large specu- 
lations, the projection of plans upon imaginary foundatiou.s, and set a 
fictitious value upon everything. The result was unhappy. Ticonde- 
roga did not become a city, and so city prices and city plans went down, 
much to the loss of castle-builders. A quiet, moderate, healthy busi- 
ness, fitted to the demands of the town, has followed to the present 
time. 

Chary of ctedit, indeed, roust the merchant be, who reviews the 
■causes of the numerous failures and assignments on the commercial rec- 
ord. To mercantile life, much more than to agricultural or profession- 
al occupations, l\ilsc hopes and side interests offer temptations and 
tramels, from which embarrassments, reverses, and failures are inciden- 
tal, if not often inevitable. Ticonderoga felt the great crises of 1837 
and of 1857 as little perhaps as any country town, for it had no large 
manufacturing interests ; but it has felt the evil of speculation beyond 
substantial means, and of too largely granted credit, leading customers 
to extravagance and thereby the merchant to failure. The greatest 
•wealth of the town does not lie with the merchants : but they must ev- 
er have, nevertheless, a remunerative, active and worthy business, for'^ 
while men live, let the times be what they may, they must buy and sell 
and be fed and clothed. 



WHAT TICOXDEnOGA DOKS. 00 

Sect. XXIII.-Hotels. 

Pilace Taylor, a negro, kept a, place of public cntertainraent in the 
house now occupied by Mrs. Ilolcomb, at the Upper Village, in 1811. 
Prince bas left a noble memory behind him as a man of wit, of good 
parts, and withal of sincere piety, and few were the weddings, or par- 
ties or festivals in town, in which bis art as cook, waiter, and chief di- 
rector of the eatables, was not brought into contribution. Another 
publio house was opened near the present residence of W. G. Baldwin, 
by Abel Potter, in 1811. The large Hotel, with its two-story piazza 
in front, its suite of chambers and parlors, and its ball-room with arch- 
ed ceiling and springing floor, was framed also in 1811. There being 
no other hotel in town for many years this public house at the Uppei^ 
Village enjoyed a very satisfactory patronage. Though the summer 
travel between the lakes was not as great as now till about 1S26, yet, 
from the building of the Lake George at the Kapids in 1816, there had 
been many passengers between the two waters for pleasure or for busi- 
ness, whose only stopping place, up to 1825, was at the Alexandria 
Hotel. Cephas Atherton was one of the keepers of this House, and 
he has had successors in it until wiihin a few years, when it has ceased 
to be kept open for lack of custom, except for the dance or concert. 

In 1825 James Tefft built the first hotel at the Lower Village, a 
stately building for that day and place, on the north of Elm Street. — 
Its site was excellent, overlooking the old French Lines, Mt. Defiance, 
the ruins of the Old Fort and the outlet of Horicon, while just by its 
Bide foamed the lower falls, and it stood itself upon the historic foot of 
Burgoyne's Mt. Hope. Fashionable travel, then on the increase, with 
boarders among business men, gave this house, known as the American 
Hotel, a prosperous business for twenty years up to 1846. Mr. Telft 
bas been its sole occupant and so continue?, though custom now is small. 

The historic grounds around Fort Ticonderoga continuing to attract 
travelers, Archibald Pell, of New York city, determined to secure to 
the publi"! the favor and to himself the profit of their accommodation. 
He bought 600 acres of the Fort Grounds ; and, in 1826, Beecher 
Higby of Glen's Falls being architect, and he himself laying out the 
grounds, he erected the house since known as 77ie Pavillion. It was 
not opened as a hotel, however, till 1838. The house in itself was 
nothing remarkable, though the walks that wind through the grove be- 
tween it and the lake will always be considered pleasant retreats by the 
traveler ; but the associations connected with the grounds round about 
it, were everything. Back of it lay the ruins of one of the most re- 
markable fortresses of the continent, the scene through wars between 
French and English, and between king and colonist, of some of the 
roost stirring scenes of our history. The old well at which the armies 
drank, and by which Ethan Allen passed to the wicker gate just above 
it, was by the roadside not a stone's throw from the pleasure grounds. 
The building itself stood perhaps on the scene of a yet earlier history, 
that rippling shore and grove being in all probability the site of Cham- 
plain's battle with the Iroquois, already described, the very spot where 
blood, afterwards to flow so freely, was fii^st shed by the hand of the 
white man, in 1609. But Mr. Pell was not long to receive the travel- 
ers which the famo of the locality attracted. Preparing to salute, ac- 
cording to the old custom, the first spring boat that brought passengers 



56 . WHAT TICON'DEUOGA DOKS. 

througli the lake, be was Icilled by the bursting of the canon. Samuel 
Chipman kept the Pavillion after biiu for several years. Mr. Low 
and Nieanor North were next connected with this Hotel. Louisa Ath- 
erton, widow of Cephas- Atherton, already mentioned, kept the Pavil- 
lion from 1844 to 1S4S. It was then kept, by Fortis Wilcox for four 
years, then by Mr. Teflt six months, then hired by Mr. Blanchard of 
Saratoga, and finally occupied, in ]854, by B. B. Brown, Esq., former- 
ly proprietor of the United States Hotel just across the lake, who has 
continued it to the present time. This house, on account of its po.si- 
tiou, has always received the larger portion of the patronage given to 
the Hotels of the town. 

Li 1828 Park Freeman erected the building at the Lower Village 
occupying the south-west corner at the intersection of Main and Ex- 
change Streets, and opened its north room as a store, using the rest as 
a dwelling house. It was first opened as a Hotel by Ric'hard D. Ar- 
thur, its first landlord being S. D. Clark, and the nest P. L. Goss. In 
1836 it was bought and very greatly improved by additions by P. M. 
Baker, in whose hands it has continued till the present time. Its keep- 
ers since 1S36 have been Joel W. Holcomb, then B. T. Howard, then 
Mr. Burfee, then Joel W. Holcomb and Byron Woodward. Mr. Wood- 
ward left after a year or so, and Mr. Holcomb has been the principal 
hotel-keeper until the full of 1S56, since which time Jones Bennet, 
Esq., has kept the house. The business of staging between the lakes, 
which during the months of summer travel is very brisk, has usually be- 
longed entirely to this Hotel. It is now the usual place of town meet- 
ings. Travelers stopping hore, however, and afterwards becoming ac- 
quainted with the whole town, remark that they should get a very er- 
roneous idea of its principles, and inhabitants, from observations made 
solely at this hotel. But its existence is a substantial convenience to 
the town and public. 

The Exchange built in 1S42 and occupied as a hotel for about five 
years and then given up for want of custoui ; the Thatcher House at 
Weedsville ; the Lake House built by A. J. Cook at Lake Horicou 
landing, and the Street House by BIr. Cheney, complete the list of tcu 
hotels with which this town has been overstocked, when only two were 
needed. 

Sect- XXIV.— V/oolen Factories. 

After the spring sheep-shearings, forty years ago, the roads used io 
be full of teams taking sacks of wool to the small factories upon which 
the country then depended for its woolen cloths. John Arthur erect- 
ed the first one in Ticouderoga in the spring of ISOS, at the north side 
of the lower falls. Its first carding machine was set up by John Por- 
ter. Sometimes 15,000 pounds of wool were o-arded at this country fac- 
tory in a single season, much of it however from adjoining towns. In 
1814 James Tefft began work as a cloth-dresser, doing a business which 
amounted the first year to $3500, and which he prosperously contin- 
ued up to 1826. Another factory was erected in 1818 on the south 
side of the lower falls, and run for several years by Pike, Case, and 
E. Hai'wood. Both this factory and the establishment on the north 
side were bought out by H. &*T. J. Tread way, who for 14 years, from 
1826 to 1840, did more carding and dressing of wool than any estab- 



WHAT TICONDEROGA DOES. 57 

Ils'nment of the vicinity. Their factory stood on the north side of Cen- 
tral Exchange street, just across what is known as the Evergreen Isl- 
and. The swift waters of the creek, impetuous. and strong, which 
turned tho factory^ were no unapt symbols of the enterprising, prompt, 
and move-ahead character of its proprietors. With a house stuffed 
with wool, four or five cords of cloth sometimes on hand at once, and 
industry which drove the machinery night and day from the middle of 
May to the first of January of each year without stopping except to 
clean the gearing, all competition was overborne and some $10,000 
cleared in seven years. The Treadways, after 1S40, manufactured 
cloth for ten years, then selling largely to lumbermen in pay for work. 
Adjoining towns furnished much of tho above trade, which, since 1850, 
has gradually been diverted to other channels. Ticonderoga is a wool- 
growing town, but its factories now are in New England. 

Sect. XXV.— Black Lead Business. 

The sugar loaf elevation in the north-western part of Ticonderoga 
was originally known as Grassy Hill, from the pasturage it afforded to 
cattle before lands were cleared. One afternoon, about sunset, some 
forty years ago, tho story goes, Mrs. Zuba Pearl was driving home her 
cows down the slopes of this mountain. One of them slipped and broke 
in sliding the wet moss from off a sloping rock at a place yet pointed 
out, and there lay the shining ore. It was black-lead, graphite, plum- 
bago, pure and unmixed. Such is one account of the discovery of the 
valuable mineral deposit which soon gave to Grassy Hill its present 
name of Lead Mountain. Another account is that it was discovered 
by William Stewart & Sons ; and another still, which seems well sus- 
tained, that it was first found by Charles Wood, about 1S15. Of the 
three, we put of course the lady claimant first, but it is probable that all 
discovered deposits though in different places. We have seen traces 
of a still earlier discovery, in a ring set with a beautiful stone made 
from one of several Indian's arrows, found at the bottom of a very an- 
cient excavation in the pure lead, six feet long by nearly two in depth, 
probably for Aboriginal tattooing. 

Considerable strife took place as to the profits of the discovery of the 
lead mines. Charles Wood, as his son Rufus Wood relates, discover- 
ed the deposit while after his cattle, by rapping the moss accidentally 
with his hatchet. He carefully put the dirt back and went and made 
a bargain with Francis Arthur, Esq., owner of the land, to work the 
lead upon certain reasonable terms. Two boxes were presently sent 
south which sold immediately for 20 cents a pound. Any discoveries of 
fresh deposits were kept as secret as possible. Rufus Wood relates that 
he once saw Wm. Stewart and N. Delano going into the woods, and, sup- 
posing them to be prospecting for lead, he followed them. They soon 
came to a place where they began to put the crow bar in^o use, when, 
dropping down behind a root, he watched them. They seemed very 
cautious, and greatly elated. Stewart driving his bar down vigorously 
"and working it to and fro in the pure ore asked Delano to come up and 
look in : "Heavens and earth, Delano, that's nice!" "Yes," said 
Delano, whereat with a yell and loud laugh Wood leaped from his con- 
cealment. "Zounds! we're gone!" esclamed the astonished discov- 
erers, and the spy found himself received with very little courtesy. 



58 WHAT TICONDEROGA DOES. 

No one at first understood the art of grinding the graphite. Guy C. 
Baldwin was the first to grind it in millstones with iron ore, about 1818. 
After its preparation, its use was not well understoed, stoves to black, 
at that date, being few. About 1830 Mr. Baldwin invented a process 
of making large solid black lead pencils ; and also a process, said lo bo 
the fastest ever known, for making 'ever-point leads' or pencil points, 
which business, in connection with his three sons, he pursued, under a 
patent obtained in 1833, for fifteen years, the annual trade being from 
one to three thousand dollars. This business is still continued at the 
Upper Village by W. Gr. Baldwin, son of the patentee. At first, the 
processes in Mr. Baldwin's shop were kept secret, and were quite a 
mystery to the uninitiated. 

Wm. Stewart and Nathan Delano were the first who mined the 
graphite to any considerable extent, and after them Francis Arthur and 
.sons. There was a great chance for fraud in grinding the lead with 
iron ore, and after a time, it is said, that adulterations almost ruined the 
trade. Wm. Stewart and sons have continued operations up to a very 
recent date, Appollos Skinner, son-in-law of Wm. Stewart, has been 
prosperously engaged in the lead business since 1833. His establish- 
ment at the Lower Village was bought by IMr. C. P. Ives and for a 
time conducted by Ives and W. A. Gr. Arthur in company. The two 
gentlemen last named have now separate establishments, Mr. Ives at 
the Upper Village and Mr. Arthur at the Lower, and are the only man- 
ufacturers of what is now widely known and valued as the 'Ticonderoga 
Silver Lead.' 

We had a brisk beat about in the woods the other day, without guide, 
to find Mr. Arthur's mine. It is situated near the north eastern base 
of Lead Mountain, and though operations are rarely carried on at the 
mine, except in winter, we saw enough to prove the large extent and 
value of the deposit. One vein has been mined to the depth of 110 
feet, the breast of pure ore being from 4 to 18 inches wide and 6 to 8 
feet deep, shading ofl: into mixed material, between walls of quartz 
rock. Several other openings have been made. About 50,000 pounds 
or 30 inns oi Pure Leadha,Ye been manufactured from this mine in some 
past seasons, the average number of pounds now being about 40,000. — 
Further up ttie slope of the mountain and within" a few rods of the 
Bummit on the south-east side, lie the mines of Mr. C. P. Ives. We 
had the pleasure of going over these with the proprietor himself and 
came away satisfied that the Mountains are by no means the least valu- 
able portions of the town. In a walk of half a mile across Mr, Ive's 
premises we passed a dozen deep veins in lines running nearly north 
and south, parallel, of purest ore, from 3 to 8 inches wide, shading off 
into mixed material which have been worked, at various lengths, some 
five, some twenty, some forty, and some seventy feet in perpendicular 
depth. The deepest cut, now quit on account of water, is of the vein 
over which the cow slipped, when first discovered, and has been worked 
100 feet in length, over 70 in depth, with a vein of pure graphite 10 
inches wide, and when in it last, Mr. Bobinson, a miner for Mr. Ives, 
obtained 300 pounds of pure ore in an hour. Several other opAiings, 
one of a hundred feet horizontally for the most, have been made for a 
mixed material yielding one-fourth pure lead. A personal examination 
of the maDufacturing cstablighment of Mr. Ives convinced us that the 



WHAT TiCONDEROUA DOES. 59 

ricbncss of the ore is not at all lessened, in its course from the etamp- 
ers, through tye, huddle, stones, and oven to the wrapping paper, by any 
lack of skill, industry, or integrity in the manufacture. Of papered 
lead, 100,000 pounds a year is the usual sale. 

On Putt's Creek and near the establishment of the Messrs. Tread- 
ways, in Schroon, graphite has been found of a very superior quality. 
It seems quite probable that the Ives and Arthur mines are connected 
and that the whole Lead mountain, in fact the entire range connecting 
this town with Schroon, is more or less seamed with rich veins of plum- 
bago, or Silver Lead, to use the double misnomer which it has receiv- 
ed. The lead Mountain abounds also in attractious to the mineralogist. 
Some rumors of silver mines in the mountain north of lloger's Slide, 
discovered, proved, and lost, are hardly worth meniioning. 
Sect. XXVI.— Tanneries. 

It is but a few years since the country depended upon small tanner- 
ies located in each vicinity for the dressing of its hides and upon shoe- 
makers that went from house to house to work the leather up into boot3 
and shoes. Dea. Benj. Burt established the first tannery of Ticonde- 
roga at the Street as early as 1806. Paul Harvey built the first vats and 
tannery buildings at the Upper Village about 1809, and was afterwards 
engaged in the same business with Augustus Moses for many years in 
Trout Brook Valley, having sold his establishment at the Upper Vil- 
lage to S. Morse about 1812. On the death of Mr. Morse, who was 
a thorough business man and had an extensive trade for six years, the 
tannery was hired by his apprentice, Jedeuiah Rice, who afterwards 
built in 1824 the vats at the foot of Central Exchange Street. After 
six years business in the Upper Village tannery, Wm. Spencer, in the 
spring of 1832, erected the houses and vats on the north side of Cen- 
tral Exchange Street, in rear of the Post Office, in which he continued 
an energetic and prosperous business, for the locality, down to 1854, 
amounting in some seasons to $2,000. Wm. Spencer was foi a time 
engaged in the shoe-trade, also P. M. Baker and Lewis Morse, but this 
business has gradually been left to larger establishments. No leather 
dressing has been done of any amount in Ticonderoga since 1854. 

Sect. XXVII.— Agriculture. 

The wealth of Ticonderoga is chiefly in the hands of its farming 
community. Of this, the cause is to be found partly in the general na- 
ture of agriculture as a business ; partly in the fertility and favorable 
location of tbe soil ; but mainly, we think, in the industry, energy, and 
good management of the farmers themselves. Ticonderoga should be 
known chiefly as a wool-growing, stock-raising, and horse-breeding 
town ; and latterly, the sheep, the cattle, and the horses have been of 
the best kinds. It will be well to examine a little in detail that indus- 
trial pursuit which gives character and prosperity to the town. 

1. Soil. We have three kinds of soil, — to speak generally — accord- 
ing to the elevation of the land. First, on the flats, beds of brooks 
and low grounds, a rich alluvial loam ; nest, on the higher-grounds, 
the plateau at the north of the town, and generally on all midway ele- 
vations, a strong fertile day^ shaded off with lighter soil in places ; 
lastly, on the higher grounds where the land begins to slope up toward 
the mountains, a stoney, loamy sand. Above all those rise the ledges. 



60 



WHAT TICONDEROGA DOES. 



fit soil for oak and pine, and affording valuable pasturage. The three 
kinds run into each other often, but are in tlie main very distinctly 
marked. The flats are black, mellow, and steaming with fertile vigor ; 
the middle lands are without stones, and covered with meadows and 
grain fields ; the upland sand goes to pasture, or to corn, or to potatoes 
where dry land is sought to protect these from the rot ; while, on the 
mountain slopes, flocks find a healthy retreat, and wood lots grow for 
fuel and for dollars while the farmers are asleep. Of the land under 
actual culture clay and loam predominate ; but, the extent of sandy 
pasture and mountainous woodland, are about e(]ual, when duly meas- 
ured, to the other two classes of soil. This variety of surface is not 
without important beneficial influences on the agricultural interests of 
the town. 



2. Crops. We often hear from farmers accounts of their great 
crops, but very seldom of their small, and rarely of the average. As 
we have the utmost horror of exaggeration, we shall put down only the 
sober average yield of bushels or tons per acre in our town, with such 
unusual larger crops as are well ascertained. If any number when com- 
pared with other towns shall appear small, we hope farmers here will be 
incited to raise it by better methods ot cultivation. It will be remem- 
bered that the yield of certain crops, especially potatoes, rye and wheat, 
is much smaller now than when the laud was new. Our farmers, how- 
ever, are now giving such attention to manuring, depth of plowing, 
draining, &c., that large portions of the soil are regaining their old fer- 
tility, and some spots are even carried beyond it. It cannot be too 
earnestly hoped that an ameliorated system of husbandry may soou 
prove the best land of Northern New York equal to that of any other 
section whatsoever, and demonstrate to farmers that there is no need of 
emigration west or south if they will only take their own soil and make 
the most of it. 

The following table for the u-hok toion is made out by averaging the 
statements of difierent farmers : 



Crops. 


Aver, pel- acre. 


Highest yield, and where raised. 


Aver, val 


HAY. 


.i ton 


4 tons on the Plateau. 


$8.00 


OATS, 


28 busli. 


50 bush, in Trout Brook Valley. 


,40 


CORN, 


30 


75 " '• " I 


.75 


WHEAT. 


12 


47 on the Plateau, 1852. 


1.12^ 


POTATOES, 


120 


800 in T. B. Valley, 1837. 


,37^ 


PEAS, 


18 


40 on the Plateau, 


1.00 


RYE, 


15 


30 


in Trout Brook Valley. 


.75 


BUCKWHEAT, 


20 


30 


a a a 


.50 


BEANS. 


1.3 


25 


a (i n 


1.00 


CARRROTS, 


330 


400 


on the Plateau. 


.25 



The crops are arranged in the order of the amount raised of each, as 
nearly as possible, hay and oats being chief products. Carrots our 
farmers are raising more of than formerly, to feed to stock. Potatoes 
are taken south in the fall, often in boat-loads, Mr. Joseph Thompson 
of the Back Street having been most prominent and successful iu their 
culture. Flax, broom-corn, hoj^s, arc hardly cultivated at all; turnips, 
very little ; and sorghum, it has been found, will not ripen in our lati- 



WHAT TICONDEUOGA DOES. Gl 

tude. A good many fine orcLards exist in town, that of John Ilarri.s 
near the Upper Village, and some at the Back Street, containing the 
choicest varieties. IMuch fruit is lost in Trout Book A" alley hf the 
patridges that come down upon the orchards in winter and pick the huds 
for food. 

3. Farm Implements. The first mower was brought to Ticonderoga 
and used by Gr. D. Clark, in June, 1S55. It was of Ketchum's man- 
ufacture and first noticed by xilr. Clark the year previous while he was 
on a visit to the World's Fair at New York. As it is claimed as the 
first mower of the county, and even the first that was brought to lake 
Champlain, we must record the interest connected with its first trial. — 
It was bought on condition that it should be shown to the farmers of 
the town, and, if not liked, returned. The morning it was to start quite 
a number of men collected at Mr. Clark's, most of them expecting if 
not desiring its failure. Some were too much prejudiced against it to 
come to the trial. Mr. E. McCaughin, a wealthy landowner, who em- 
ployed many hands, said he would come to the trial if Mr. Clark would 
pet the hour, and not attach the horses until he should get there ; as he 
did not want any Yankee tiick played with the machine. The hour 
was fixed at 8 o'clock one June morning, and at 7.30 Mr. McCaughin 
was on the spot and saw the team hitched on. The driver .and the 
team were entirely unaccustomed to the machine, and the horses a lit- 
tle wild withal. After driving up and down the road once or twice the 
proprietor said to the company that if they would let down the fence 
he would drive in hit or miss the next time round and strike the grass. 
They did so and IMr. Clark mowed out thirty rods and back, the eager 
examiners following close behind. It was expected that the machine 
would clog, or hitch, or break, or draw hard, but it moved very clear 
and free and did its work quite well. The faces of the laboring men 
fell. It was a summer when hired hands were a^ing unusually high 
prices, and their enmity was bitter against the labor-saving machine.' — ■ 
But employers, though at first incredulous, now believed very gladly. 
A dozen more turns with the machine and all were satisfied that it would 
work, and one of the jocose toasts given by McCaughin to the company 
over a glass of beer was that laboring men must beware of high prices 
now for machinery gave employers the advantage. Other farmers im- 
mediately sent for machines, which are now exerting a most beneficial 
influence, not only iu' enabling their owners to cut hay some shillings 
cheaper per acre than by the old method, but in obliging thera to clear 
their meadows of brush, stumps and stones. Allen's machines, howev- 
er, are now generally in use, having superseded Ketchum's by fair 
superiority in 1857. There are ten mowing-machines in town the pres- 
ent season, owned by H. Kimpton, Gr. N. & C. L. Wicker, T. Rog- 
ers, R. Bly, W. II. Cook and C. Lapiei, A. J. Cook, J. Harris andGr. 
Wright, besides G. D. Clark, the introducer and agent, who with II. 
G. Burleigh, also an agent, has been called on for machines by the 
other farmers in the order in which their names are given.* 

* The following letter ft-om R. L. Allen, which we copy from his manuscript, 
contains an interesting; record of the manner, terms, and time that mowing ma- 
chines were introduced into Essex County. We give it entire : — 



03 WHAT TICONDEKOCA DOES. 

"The farmers of Ticonderoga are all hogs," was a jocose complaint 
made one day by McHord, already mentioned among the mechanics, at 
the Lower Village, "they never patronize home workmen, but, if they 
want anything, always send out of town." Q-. D. Clark being present 
retorted for the farmer's side, saying that the truth was that the me- 
chanics made nothing that farmers needed : they could make Blackhawk 
sulkies, but an ox-cart, for instance, which he needed, was out of their 
line of business ; or if they did did make it, it would cost more than 
on imported one. Considerable sparring ended in the proposal by Mc- 
Ilerd, who was an excellent mechanic, that if there was anything un- 
der the blue heavens that the farmers wanted he would make it. A rol- 
ler was immediately mentioned by Mr. Clark, a bargain struck, and af- 
ter fixing upon a plan, and cutting patterns at considerable cost, the 
first substantial roller of Ticonderoga was finished at the foundry of the 
Porters. A considerable number are now in use in town, the first hav- 
ing been in such demand as to be hired at half a dollar a day. 

Threshing machines have been in use since 184S. The town is 
mainly indebted for their introduction to Harrison Atwood, and Warren 
Spencer, and for their general use to these gentlemen and others own- 
ing machines, though many farmers with heavy scaffolds still prefer to 
pound out their grain by flail through the long winter days. Corn shel- 
lers, patent churns, horse-power wood-saws, post-setters, corn-planters, 
cultivators, patent cheese presses, dairy stoves, &c., are machines that 
find owners and favor in Ticonderoga, as elsewhere. 

4. Cattle. Of full-blood cattle in Ticonderoga the Devons are moflt 
numerous ; of grade cattle, the Durhams. We have no Herefords or 
Ayrshires. T. Delano and G. D. Clark own most of the full-blood 
Devons and were the first to bring them here and disseminate the stock, 
importing them from W. R. Sanford's, Orwell, Vt., in 1849.* John 
Harris had brought in a bull of superior blood previously, but the first 
■ ■ ■ ■ > 

New York, June 6, 1857. 

Mr. Geo. D. Clark : Dear Sir : — My agent, Mr. , says you have a- 

c,'rced to act as local agent in the neighborhood of Ticonderoga for the sale of my 
mowing machines, and I have accordingly ordered one to be sent you from M.& J. 
H. Buck & Co., of Lebanon, N. H., who are manufacturing a few for me this 
year. 

•By making an immediate and thorough canvass among the farmers and espec- 
ially by exhibiting my mower successfully at work, I have no doubt you will se- 
cure a sale to every farmer who needs a mower, and I hope to have very consid- 
erable orders from you. 

You will find my mower far superior to Ketchum's, drawing with i or at most 
f the power required for that or any other machine, and working perfectly in 
a,ny kind of grass. I hope you will give the machine an instant trial when re- 
ceived, and as soon as you get it to work perfectly call in all your friends to see 
it and, put all the other machines to be found to work by the side of it and let 
the farmers make up their minds which is the best. I would like to receive your 
orders early as I am quite sure of a deficiency to supply the demand, and I par- 
ticularly desire that there should be some in your county this year.* 

Very truly yours, R. L. ALLEN. 

Please reply soon. 

* This dale and that of 1847 in which the' full-blood Jarvis sheep were intro- 
duced, shows Ticonderoga to have been among the first towns of the county to 
begin the late remarkable improvements in stock. "I cannot ascertain," says 
W. C. Watson in his thorough and able Survey, "that a thorough bred animal 
was owned in the county, until about the year 18i9.'' 



WHAT TICONDEROGA DOES. 63 

movement toward a thorough improvement of the breed of cattle be- 
gan with the Devons. H. Kimpton and D. McCaughin own the larg- 
er share of Durham cattle. Some of the animals exhibited by these 
gentlemen at a late Town Fair excited much admiration, the oxen for 
their size, weight and power, and the cows for the same and thciv milk- 
ing qualities. The Devons are highly esteemed as tough, hardy, ma- 
turing young, enduring our winters well, easily kept, good milkers, and 
as valuable for beef at two years old as ordinary cattle at three. A bull 
of this blood owned by C. D. Smith is considered a very valuable pos- 
session for the whole town. Perhaps Russel Ely winters the largest 
number of cattle of any of our farmers, mainly, however, of the grade 
varieties, and bought to sell again. The best lot of calves in 1857 was 
decided by a Fair Committee to belong to W. H. Cook. The daries 
kept, vary in number according to the convenience of the owners, from 
6 to 12 usually, but sometimes 30 — at D. McCaugbin's — the product 
being mainly cheese through the summer months, and butter in autumn 
and spring, which finds a considerable home market but goes largely 
down the Hudson or to Boston. The commendable attention to the se- 
lection, care, and management of cattle, which has been benefitting 
Ticonderoga for several years, is yet on the increase. 

•5. Sheep. In Spanish Merino Sheep the farmers of Ticonderoga 
have some flocks rivaling Vermont, said to be the best wool state of the 
Union. But here too, as in cattle, we are indebted to Shoreham and 
Orwell, older and wealthier towns, for the origin of improvement in 
stock. In 1847 Gr. D. Clark purchased 32 full-blood Jarvis sheep, then 
called Merinos, though not of the kind now known by thai name, in 
Shoreham, selecting them from difi'erent flocks. In the fall of 1851 
\V. H. Cook, G. B. Clark, and W. V. Cook brought into Ticonderoga 
the first full-blood Spanish Merinos from the flock of E. Eobinson in 
Shoreham and began to disseminate the stock to their neighbors, W. 
H. Cook having paid ^60 for two yearliog bucks. Our largest flock of 
fjtll-bhod Merinos, owned by T. Delano, number about 150. Grade 
Merinos being less expensive and by some thought more hardy than the 
pure blood, while shearing hardly less, make up the greater part of the 
» flocks. J. G. Hammond has nearly all the Bakewcll sheep and O. 
Phelps all the Canada sheep in town. In 1S52 T. and J. M. Delano 
bought Merino bucks in Shoreham and a choice flock of full blood ewes. 
The fever for improvement spread rapidly. Among the present own- 
ers of superior flocks should be mentioned, besides the gentleman al- 
ready named, 0. Phelps, T. Rogers, H. Kimpton, B. P. Delano, D. 
S. Gibbs, C. Miller, J. Thompson, G. Grant, G. N. and C. L. AVicker, 
A. J. Cook, H. Moses ; and, in fact, there is hardly a farmer in town 
upon whose flock the improved breed has not made a valuable impres- 
sion. Of the collection, H. Kimpton's flock and that of W. H. Cook 
are the largest, numbering about 500 each. 

The farmers think that they have sheared some heavy fleeces ; but, 
as we are desirous, not of a showy but a truthful record, we must confine 
ourselves to facts that have been well ascertained. 

A very pleasant and valuable reunion of the farming community was 
held at a sheep shearing at the Lower Village, May 31, 1S53. Among 
other results of the rival trial wc find the following : — 



64 



WHAT lllONDKROGA DOE- 



Owner. 



Bucks. 





Age. 


Whole Wt 


Fleece. 




\Ym. II. Cook, 


2 


llSi 


16A 


Washed. 


do do 


2 


134 


m 


Washed. 


,G. D. Clark, 


2 


99 


16 




T. Delano, 


2 


in| 


13^ 




G. D. Clark, 


11 mo 


52 


5 5-S 





On the last duy of May again, 1S54, at the Hotel of J. W. Holcomb, 
about 50 sheep of the Spanish Merino stock were brought together for 
comparison, 27 of which were sheared, the clip being from 11 months 
10 days to 12 months growth, with the following result, made out by 
Wm. E. Calkins, one of the judges at the shearing : — 



Yelvrlixg ISwes. 2 Year Old TLwfs. 



Wm. H.Cook, 

do 
Ct. D. Clark 

do 
Thomas Delano,. ., 

do 

do 
Benj. P. Delano,. ., 

do 
Jas. M. Delano, 

do 
Sylvester McMli-stc 
Henry Moses, 

do 
Andrew J. Cook.. . 
Hiram Kimplou,. . 



ao 



David S. Gibhs,. 
Carlton Miller, . . 



"RTiole Wt. 


Fleece. 


Whole Wt. 


Fleece. 


174 


16,^^ 


91 >i 


11 


S.5 


n?4 






97 


10 






90 


IOIjC 






1*5;;^ 


1-1?4 


7fi 


'[:;; 






5il,'2 


V'a 


12.t'^ 


n\' 






1 Ty?.i 


^Ja 










TO)' 


"1' 










1.35 


12^i 


59;i 


6,'.4 


102 


11 >= 1 






139 


11 






98 


lOM 






78 


9 






96 


9 






96 


10)^ 






88 '.i 


8k< 




1 



84 

501,' 



In 1S57 the average weight of fleece in G. D. Clark's flock of near- 
ly two hundred, washed, was 6^ pounds. W. H. Cook sold a buck to 
go west for ^100 cash ; a buck of Mr. Clark's, shearing 15 lbs. 15 oz., 
was sold back again to Mr. llobiuson for $115, and .$8 a head offered 
for the flock above mentioned by a Vermonter, was refused. T. Dela- 
no's full bloods would probably be priced higher. The heaviest fleece 
yet sheared was from the buck of W. H. Cook, weighing IS-*- pounds. 
It is understood that all the above fleeces, except when stated other- 
wise, were weighed unwashed, but it is within the personal knowledge 
of the writer that no more oil or weight of any kind was in the wool 
than the natural vigor of the cleanly kept, and well fed animal himself 
supplied. Excellent care is found to be repaid by heavy fleeces, and 
it is a pleasure to visit the establishments of Messrs. T. Delano, Clark, 
Cook, Kimpton and others at midwinter, and find shelter, well arranged 
housing, battened and warm, full racks, water, and daily care supplied 
to the dumb flocks as regularly as to the firmers' families themselves. 

6. Horses. It has been sometimes claimed by vex-y fair judges that 
no other town of its size has raised as many horses of superior blood 
and value within the same time as Ticonderoga. Whether this claim, 
which we do not endorse,has any foundation at all, will appear from the 
following list of the names, owners and (jualities of certain of our best 
horses. Since ISOO, there have been two periods of improvement : 



WHAT TICONDEROGA DOES. 65 

the first, from tlic olJ stock, valued particularly for size, endurance and 
power ; the second, from the new stock, whose chief good qualities arc 
fepeed, docility and beauty. Wc arrange their names, as nearly as pos- 
sible, in the order of their age and time of service, with brief notes of 
the qualities claimed for each. 

OLD STOCK. 

1. Siveepslakes. Folded in ISOO. Owned and used by Henry B. 
Hay till 1S22, sometimes for 125 mares a season. Left sonie of the 
best stock for size, power, and general utility the town has ever had. 

2. Driver. Sired by Old Priver and owned by Wm. Kirby. His 
stock is represented by the friends of the old style of horses as much 
ahead of the present Black Hawk stock for size, power, beauty, and 
even speed, llunning was the racing gait in those days ; but if Dri- 
ver's stock had boon trained to it, as Blackhawks are now, they would 
have distanced them, it is thought, in trotting. They were tough as 
iron and for running they were not beat. Some of the stock is known 
to have endured hard labor to the age of 25 and 30 years. 

3. Harris Dunn Horse. Owned by John Harris about 30 years 
ago. Stock for the general purposes of the country claimed as good as 
any other. Of fair speed, good roadster, above medium size, compact 
form, and much of his stock yet in town, highly valued. This horse 
was sold to a gentleman of Vergennes, and a .somewhat romantic story 
is told of his takmg the animal out of town one night by back roads, 
hiding in the woods for a time, and ferrying the lake by moon light, to 
avoid an attachment about to be levied upon him by Harris. 

4. 5, 6. Superior^ Duroc, and Floxighboy. Owned by Stephen D. 
Clark about 1830-34. Good sized bay horses, heavy strong stock for 
all work. The town is much indebted to the zeal of S. D. Clark, for 
improvement in horses. 

7. Innocent, or Young Jehu. Sire and dam both full blood import- 
ed English horses. Owned by Steph. D. Clark. Stock of superior 
qualities for speed, beauty, and general utility. 

8. Old Mike. Of Messenger blood. Brought from Ohio by Clark 
Bennet about 1834, and afterwards owned by A. L. Bennet and Beers 
Tomlinson. Stock large, and of superior qualities for general utility. 

9. Young Sir Charles, or Burge Horse. In service herefrom 1837 
to 1843. liaised and owned by Benj. P. Delano. Sired by Sir Charles 
that was brought from Long Island in 1821 by D. Hill of Bridport, 
owner of Blackhawk. Sir Charles was sired by Duroc, the sire of 
Eclipse. The stock of the Burge Horse had, therefore, some high 
characteristics. Valued for power of endurance, compactness, and gen- 
eral utility. The Burge Horse finally went into the hands of Truman 
Kimpton, brother of a citizen of our town, in Canada, where he left 
much valuable stock. 

10. Rogers'' Gray. His Sire, Old Mike, already mentioned. He 
has left a larger number of colts perhaps than any other horse of the 
old stock. Owned by Thomas Bogers. 

11. Emperor. A celebrated trotting horse, speed 2. 37^, brought to 
Ticonderoga from long Island in 1851 by W. A. O. Arthur and W. 
V. Cook. Kept here several years for his stock some of which have 
shown superior speed. B. P. Delano has a very superior horse of the 
Emperor stock now 7 years old. Bay rulnam, owned by AV. A. G- 



G6 WHAT TICONDEROOA DOES. 

Arthur and C. L. Wicker, 3 yrs. old, is a very superior colt of the Km- 
pcror stock, speed 3 minutes or less. Old Emperor taken west to Il- 
linois. 

NEW STOCK. 

1. Felton Horse, or Ticondcroga. First horse of the Blackhawk 
blood prominent in Ticonderoga. All black, said to have been the 
handsomest horse in America. Sold to Franklin Felton at 3 yrs. old 
for $1125. Taken to Baltimore by Felton, who bought a farm a few 
miles from the city and built an extensive Brick Hotel upon it for the 
accommodation of the patrons and friends of the horse. A doguerrco- 
type of this horse is said to have been taken to serve as the model of 
the famous crjucstrian statue of Gen. Jackson, at the National Capitol. 
Speed claimed at 2 m. 50 seconds. At a National Fair held at Louis- 
ville, Kentucky, Ticonderoga took the first premium, had $8000 of- 
fered tor him and refused, was taken suddenly ill, and died, 1857. 

2. Fhfmg Cloud. Kaised by Gustavus N. AVicker. Speed 2.50. 
Now 13 yrs. old, in Ohio, of great celebrity there. Left some excel- 
lent stock in this vicinity. Sold out of town at 4 yrs. old for $1300. 

3. Ethan Allen, The most celebrated horse of the state and per- 
haps of the nation, tor combined speed, power, and beauty. Sired by 
Old Blackhawk. Dam. Cook's 'Old White Mare.' Raised and bred 
by Joel W. Ilolcomb. ' Now 9 yrs. old. Owned by 0. S. Roe & Co., 
at Shoreham, Vt. Earned $11,000 in 1857. Service $100. The 
sprino- he was 4 yrs. old he trotted with Rosa Washington at the Un- 
ion Course, L, I., in 2.36, and in 1S56, at Boston with the horse Hi- 
ram Drew, in 2.32i. An offer of $20,000 for Ethan Allen, actually 
made by Gustavus Austin of Orwell, Vt., was refused. Qne half of 
Ethan Allen, when 2 yrs. old, was bought by 0. S. Roe for $1000. 

4. Henry Ckn/. Sired by Old Blackhawk. Raised and owned by 
Hiram Wilson. 'Speed 2.50. $6000 offered for him. Service $30. 
Stands now at Poughkeepsie. Beautiful dapple gray. Has taken pre- 
mium in his class at National Fair in Springfield, Mass., several times, 
for general utility. Last year he carried off a prize of $200, having 
eleven competitors to contend with. 

5. Calkins'' Horse. Sired by Old Blackhawk. Hamiltonian dam. 
Superior style and action. Stood at Keeseville in 1S51, where he sired 
some l3 colts. Bred by Wm. E. Calkins. Sold in 1852 at 4 yrs. old 
to F. Felton for SlOOO. Taken to Baltimore and kept for stock for 
several years and sold by Mr. Fojton in 1856 for $2000. 

6. Goo. Clark. Sired by Sherman Blackhawk or Myrrick Horse. — 
Owned by J. A. and A. M. Pinchin. Of superior speed, beauty, do- 
cility, compactness, and power. Medium size, black, 6 yrs. old. — 
Speed, 3 minutes, or less. 

7. Prince Albert. Sired by Blackhawk Daniel Webster, or Perry 
Horse. Owned by L. R. Woolcot. Five years old. A very hand- 
some horse, above medium size, well proportioned, heavy mane and tail, 
compact, docile, strong. Color, red roan. Speed, 3| minutes. Has 
some valuable stock in town. 

S. Riddler. Sired by old Black Hawk. Bred by Wm. B. Calkins. 
Five yrs. old. Handsome jet black. Heavy mane and tail. Great 
proportion lone, remarkably well developed, powerful and vigorous in 



WHAT TICONDEKOGA IJOKS. 67 

action, exhibiting prominently Morgan cliaracterislics, and showil^g 
good speed. 

9. Young' Ilcnry Clay. Sired by TTcnvy Clay or Wilson ITorse. — 
Mahogany bay. Bred by Wm. E Calkins. Five yrs. old. Superior 
style and action. Speed shown at Albany track, fall of 1857, 3.20. — 
Stands in Albany for stock the present season, very favorably regarded. 

10. Vinco. Sired by Old Blackhawk from W. 11. Cook's Abdalhih 
Mare. Of superior speed, beauty, docility, compactness, and potver. 
Speed 3 minutes or less. On the ice, in the winter of 1S5S, claitncd 
at 2.5-5. Now 4 yrs. old. Owned' half by W. II. Cook, and half by 
(jr. W. Wicker and C. H. Bennet. Has some very promising stock in 
town. One half of Vinco at 3 yrs. of age sold to C. H. Bennet by C. 
Lapier for S550. 

Three year olds. Superior three year olds are owned by W. Gr. Bald" 
win, a. N. Wicker, and C. L. Wicker of Old Blackhatvk ; by W. A, 
Gr. Arthur of the Emperor; by J. Gr. Hammond of (Black Hawk) 
Hardroad ; by J. Harris of the Fellon Horse. The first four of these 
have already shown superior speed. One of these owned by W. Gl. 
Baldwin, is considered in color, figure and gait, nearly a facsimile of 
Old Black Hawk. 

Mares. Much attention has been given in Ticonderoga to securo 
good blood in the dam as well as in the sire. Among mares that have 
brought superior colts and been a source of much profit to their own- 
ers the following deserve mention : The Old White Mare., formerly 
Owned by Wm. H. Cook and latterly by J. \{ . Holcomb was the dam 
of Ethan Allen, Black Hawk Maid, of Red Leg and of several other 
celebrated horses. She was taken from the harness and used as a breed- 
ing mare up to. the age of 27, and the result was a superiority of stock 
entirely unexpected. From examination it seems now ascertained sat- 
isfactorily that she was a Messenger mare and sired in Massachusetts. 
A mare of Gr. N. Wicker, called Mink^ was the dam of the celebrated 
Fclton Horse Ticonderoga, also of the Ty Boy, and of several very 
superior colts from Old Black IlaVvk and Ethan Allen. B. P. Delano 
Las a very fine breeding mare sired by Sir Charles, and sister to Burgc 
Horse. The Burge Horse was also the sire of W. A, Gr. Arthur's brood- 
ing marc, Yoiing Poll, from Col. Wrn. Cook's "Old Poll," also of Wm. 
H. Cook's Old Bay from the "Old White Mare," all very highly valu- 
ed for the speed, power and beauty of their colts. W. G. Baldwin's 
black IMare Jenny is the dam of two very fine horses now owned by 
him, a Blackhawk mare of superior qualities. Fanny Childers is the 
name of a valuable mare of Flying Childers and Messenger blood, own- 
ed by C. L. Lapier. Benj. H. Baldwin owns a breeding mare, sired by 
Old Black Hawk, her dam sired by the Burgc horse. Geo. D. Clark 
has a breeding marc that has brought many colts of superior value. — 
W. H. Cook's Chestnut mare Fanny should also be mentioned, sired by 
old Abdallah, from a dam by old American Star, he by Old EcH^jsc. — 
She was brought to Ticonderoga from Orange Co., and is the dam of 
Vinco and other colts ot superior qualities, from Ethan Allen. 11. 
Kimptou, C. L. Wicker, J.. W. Holcomb, and L. K. Woolcott and 
other gcnllcmeu arc owners of prcmiuui mares; in fact, attention to 
good blood on the bide of the dam ha;^ been aa general as on the bide oi 
the sire 



08 WHAT TICONDEROGA DOES. 

Tbcrc is at present much valuable stock of the Blackbawk blood in 
town sired by old Black Hawk and bis male progeny. Colts by tbc 
side for which tlu-ee, four, and five hundred dollars have been actually 
refused are not uncommon, while some will not sell to pay the services 
of the sire. 

What is the sura of the whole matter ? While Ticonderoga is just- 
ly noted for high priced horses tor the race-course, her team horses are 
by no means superior. Staunch, heavy, compact, spirited draught 
horses, such as the hilly roads and rugged soil of the town require, arc 
rarely seen. Blackhawks are absurdly petted, the common breed mis- 
erably neglected, and this widens the distance between them. Some 
excellent teams there arc, no doubt, but the attention to improvement 
of farm-horses, as a general thing, is far too small. Even some of the 
friends of the Blackhawk breed confess that they are such, not for im- 
provement of their stock, but for improvement of their pockets. A 
few individuals have sold for enormous prices and others have rushed in, 
as miners rush, dropping every thing else, to where some one has found 
a larger lump of gold. No remarks of ours can lessen the prices of 
Blackhawks. The fever has been rising for a dozen years, and it may 
run a dozen more. Ticonderoga has been near the centre of that influ- 
ence, and shared largely in the profits of that Blackhawk furor , which 
has agitated this and neighboring states and radiated to all parts of the 
Union. We wish it were possible to speak of this agitation as an un- 
mixed good. To say nothing here of the moral interests involved, it is 
confessed by some of the best friends of the popular stock, that if real 
improvement of the general utility of horses is desired, many of our 
farmers are acting in a way little calculated to secure that end. A 
friend of the old style of horses made to us a prophecy which we will 
put ou record, as its spirit if not its letter may prove true. "Our 
farmers miss it," said he, "in preferring speed and beauty to power and 
cndurauce : they may get big prices, but those in the end will fall, and 
what will be worse, they won't have a team by and by, out of their 
present fancy stock, stout enough to draw a shad off a gridiron." 

7. Farmers^ and' Mechanics^ Fair. The propriety and benefit of 
holding a Town Fair were ideas dating from the sheep shearings of 1853 
-54, but first brought before our town practically in the fall of 1857, 
mainly by the efforts of C. II. Delano and Wm. E. Calkins. A gen- 
eral cull, issued by the instrumentality of these gentlemen and others, 
resulted in a meeting Sep. l2, of many of our most substantial farmers 
and mechanics, who resolved, after discussion, to make the experiment 
oV organizing themselves into a Farmers and Mechanics' Association of 
Ticonderoga. The committee appointed to draft a preamble and regu- 
lations, reported at an adjourned meeting, by Wm. E. Calkins their 
chairman, as follows : 

"That oxpcrioncc has tausbt that mncli benefit may be deriveil from the form- 
ation and ))iop('r management of Town Agricultural anil Mechanical Associa- 
tions, adoniiug ojiportunity, as such associations legitimately do, by bringing 
the ])eople together \\ ith their animals and products, to compare, notice and sug- 
ge:-;t improvements, and to intereliangc opinions, thereby encouraging laudable 
ambition .and fostering social and kindly Cerlings, all being mutually useful and, 
joint contributors to rational and mi'utal t'lijoyment. 

Convinced of the truth of tiic.-o positions, tlie undersigned agree toform them- 
selves into a society to be called the J^irmers and Mechanics' Association of Ti- 



WHAT TICONDEUOGA DOES. G'J 

coiideroj^a, its oljoct licin.tc to promote imprnvonicnt in agilcuUuic, liorticiiUurc, 
uiid lunil tasto and the liiechaiiic niiil houseliold aily."' 

Tlic annual fee of nierabership, to provide for incidental expenses, 
was fixed at $1,00, and premiums were to ho simple certificates of rank 
as No. 1, 2, or 3. All these regulations were adopted, and the society 
duly organized by the election of officers as follows : President, B. 1*. 
Delano; Vice Frcsidciits, G. I). GlavktindVi. A. Gr. Arthur; .SVc/e- 
tary,'Wm. i^l. Calkins; Treasurer, Gcorgo "Wright; Executive Com- 
?rti«cc, B. ]'\ Frazier, J. McConnick, C. N. ChiLon, A. J. Cook. — 
About 50 forthwith paid in their dollar each, subscribing to the consti- 
tution, and resolved to hold what they dared call only an experimen- 
tal Fair, on the 15th of October ensuing. 

The morning of Thursday, the 15th, was rainy and the whole day 
dampened by a drizzling mist, very unfavorable to the pro.spects of the 
Fair. The grounds chosen, at last, after considerable discussion and 
difference of opinion, were on the elevation at the head of Main Street, 
a site whose beauties the town had hardly noticed before, adopted af- 
terwards as the location of the Ticonderoga Academy. About 9 o'clock, 
the rain having subsided, the people began to arrive, and the day w:t3 
finally passed, despite all previous evil prophecies, with numbers and 
success entirely satisfactory. In a full report of the Fair published ia 
the ElizabellUnwn Post o{J)oQ. \\, 1S57, over the signature of the 
President and Secretary of the association, we find the following state- 
ments: 

"The entry list showed about 100 actual contribitors, presenting fo^r 
corapetion and exhibition in the aggregate as follows: Horses, 61; 
cattle, 96 ; sheep, 111 ; swine, 14; poultry, 6; mechanic and house- 
hold manufacture, 40 ; packages of butter, 9 ; cheese, 2 ; varieties of 
fruit, 26 ; varieties of vegetables, 22 ; packages of honey, 6 ; bottlca 
of wine, 2 ; paintings, G. 

"And to add to the pleasures of the day we were addressed by P. 
J. Cook and C. li. Delano, farmers' boys who claim old Ti. as the land' 
of their nativity. 

"The drift of Mr. Cook's remarks was that the exercises of the day 
proved the public spirit of the town, its hope of permanent prosperity, 
and its ability to sustain itself despite the injuries done to its manufac- 
tures by reason of its unsurpassed Water power having been held in> 
jeopardy by a foreign hand. Hence, the main subject presented was, 
The Necessity, to the Practical Farmer and Mechanic of a High Stan- 
dard OF Education, of Effort, and of Virtue, lor the reasons, 1. 
That they have for it abundant opportunity in time, in talent, and ia» 
means of instruction ; 2. Because it is demanded by the intrinsic na- 
ture of their occupation in its sources of improvement, of profit, and oi' 
pleasure ; 3. ]>ecause it is made of vital self-interest by the progress 
of the age in intellectual, mechanical, and cora:iiercial matters ; 4. De- 
cause it is their duty to protect their own interests in public laAVS by tbo 
proper exercise of the controlling political power they possess ; and 5. 
Dccausc they arc conse<]ucntly responsible for the political, moral, edu- 
cational, and social character of the town, of the state, and of the nation. 

"Mr. Delano, after alluding to his position as the 'off steer' on exhi- 
bition, ably expressed his appreciation and permanent choice of agricul- 
ture as his pursuit, and dwelt at length upou the value of Scientifk: 



70 WJIAT TICONDEROGA DOES. 

Farminxs as demonstrated particularly, 1. In draining; 3. In tlic 
•()roscrvation and preparation of fertilizing Bubstanccs ; and 3. In tlio 
rotation of crops." 

After giving a full list of premiums, of wbich wc have already notic- 
ed tlic most important, and returning acknowledgments, the report cited 
above represents the officers of the Association as 'under many obliga- 
tions for the friendly feeling exhibited by Putnam, Crownpoint, Hague, 
Shoreham and Orwell.' "And permit us," they conclude, "to say to 
one and all, that you should not let your ambition languish with the de- 
cayiug leaves of Autumn," then covering hill and valley about the fair 
grounds with drapery of gold and crimson, "but gather information and 
strength daring winter ready to come forth another season with renew- 
ed energy and vigor prepared for more complete success." 

Most heartily do we add our earnest hope and expectation that dayg 
of pleasure and of profit like the one above recorded — and recorded 
fully because it was the first, — may be, in our town, of perpetual annual 
recurrence. 

This closes our section on Agriculture, but the bu.oitiess will only end 
■with time. While our farmers look over the record of the improve- 
ments in cattle, in sheep, and in horses, which for the last ten years have 
been so marked, we hope they may be incited for the nest ten years to 
carry forward certain other improvements, particularly in soil culture, 
draining, rotation of crops, and fruit raising, in which we are yet be- 
hind. It ought to be added that the farmers of Ticondcroga have good 
houses and out buildings, the last four or five years having shown evi- 
dences of prosperity by the erection of many new dwellings and the fit- 
ting up of nearly every considerable establishment with convenience 
and taste. A high standard of education, of cfibrt and of virtue, will 
secure to the members of our farming community, not merely financial 
prosperity, but that preponderating social and political influence for 
good, which their numbers and the wants of the town make at onco 
their right, their duty, and their necessity. 

Sect. XXVIII.— Boat Building. 

"With the exception of one or two stores, boat building is the largest 
business in Ticondcroga at the present time. The first load of Lake! 
Pharoah lumber that turned from its usual course through lake HoricoU 
to the Hudson and sought an outlet southward by the Champlain Canal, 
was drawn to the Ticondcroga Pocks, by Stephen Sayre, in 1820. — 
From that time the business of building and running canal-boats has 
employed a considerable share of the industry of the town. The Ti- 
condcroga was the first boat built, launched 1819. From 1820 to 1825 
ttic boat yards were intensly active in supplying the orders of several 
business men of the town. Park Freeman, John Harris, Wm. Stewart, 
Josoph Weed, Alex. McDole, Almcron Smith, and Nathan Pelano, were 
all building boats together. The clatter of hammer and saw caused con- 
siderable business excitement; the new canal had raised a fever; all the 
town were about to become boatmen. 

Among the mechanics engaged in boat building, Asa Egglestoa was 
foremost from aljout 1S25 to 1835. Asa Simmons has been a promi- 
nent boat-builder at Port Marshall for the last thirty years. Henry 
Cosscy, who bugau bu.>iuc.ij with Simmoujj hdo been engaged in bout- 



WHAT TICONDEROriA DOES. 71 

building at the foot of Lowor Exchange Street, since lfi43. Cliarles 
Wcthoiby, though living in Orwoll, Vt., shoukl be nieutioned among tho 
boat builders of Ticonderoga, during the last six" yoars, as his materials 
came from this town the boats are sent back here for use. 

Ten boats a year is the average number launched. In 1S4G there 
were fourteen; in 1847, there were seven and one large schooner, tho 
largest sail-craft of the Lake; in 1S57, there were thirteen. T'niil 
within about two years all the timber has been obtained from Ticonde- 
roga and its vicinity. Long pine timber is now procured from Canada. 
Iron work for the boats is done at the Lower Village. The first boat.s 
cost from $G0O to $700; built with ?pruce bottoms, no decks, steered 
with an oar, simply to carry lumber. The next price was from $S0O 
to $1000. Now a better class are built; costing from $1200 to $1600. 
Fluctuations of the iron and lumber trade, and occasionally oversupplics 
of boats, make the number built each year variable. The boat-building 
interest, however, averages $15,000 annually. 

Over 40 boats, plying between New York and Lake Champlain ports, 
now hail from Ticonderoga, with about 140 boatmen from this town. — 
Lumber from Ticonderoga and Crownpoiut, and ore, iron, from Crown- 
point, Port Henry and AYcstport, are the main articles of the loading 
carried south. The cargoes brought back are merchandise of all kinds 
and coal from Rondout and Jersey City. Several boats take in potatoes 
in the fall and quarter in New York, preserving their hulks in the salt 
water, to come up loaded with early new goods in the spring. 

It is a pleasure to state that much improvement has taken place ia 
{he morals of the boatmen for the last few years, especially as to habit.s 
of temperance, observance of the Sabbath, peaceable demeanor, and up- 
right conduct generally. Captains are now usually accompanied by 
their wives and sometimes by their families. A laborious, hardy, gen- 
erous class of men, it is to be hoped that the boatmen will soon leave 
nothing in their habits to be regretted. 

Sect, XXIX.— Legal Profession and Politics. 

S. A. Gibson was a lawyer of considerable practice at the Upper Til- 
lage in 1814. Mr. Northrup, Lebbeus Ilaskill and Lemuel Wicker 
were lawyers of Ticonderoga in 1822 and onward. After them camo 
llichard Smith, Johnathan Burnett, James J. Stephens, brother to 
Samuel Stephens a more noted lawyer, and Elipbalct Pearson, between 
1824 and 1834. Since then, Geo. Pt. Andrews, Wm. Calkins, J. Col- 
ins Wicker, Moses T. Clough, have been among the legal gentlemen of 
the town nearly to the present time, also Augustus Haight, M. F. Nich- 
olson and C. N. Flint for a shorter period. At present the otily lawyers 
in regular practice are Hon. J. Burnet, Alfred Weed andM. A. Shel- 
don. 

Among the earlier lawyers, Haskill, Wicker, Smith, and Stephens, 
though men of ability and influence, are said not to have escaped en- 
tirely the habits of intemperance so deplorably prevalent in their day. 
Ilaskill, who was a man of considerable cluquencc, went West, reform- 
ed, became a Temperance Lecturer, and afterwards lived to address 
the citizens of Ticonderoga in that capacity. Of the later lawyers it is 
not necessary to speak, as their characters are mainly well known. 

Of representatives to the Legislature from Ticonderoga, Manoah Mil- 



72 WHAT TICONDEROOA DOES. 

Icr was the first, in 1S13. Levi Thompson followed him ia 1814. Kb- 
cnczer I)ougla.s.s was in the Assembly in 1821, anJ about the same time 
Ticonderoga and tlie county were represented in the Senate by Judge 
Kellog. In 1830 Wm. Kirby was sent from Ticonderoga to Ihe As- 
sembly ; in 1831, Jos. S. AVoed ; in 1833, Almeion Smith, a close suc- 
cession of representatives quite creditable to the town. Though not 
prominent as speech-makers, these representatives were thorough bus- 
iness men, and upon many important questions acquitted themselves 
well. Johnathan Burnet, who had been County Judge from 1841 to 
1845, was chosen to the Assembly for 1853-54. lie was a leading 
debater in the House during a very active session, in which the cana! 
enlargement, the impeachment of Mather, and the Prohibitory Law 
were prominent subjects of discu.ssion. Geo. R. Andrews, from Ticon- 
deroga, was in Congress from 1849 to 1851. 

Ticonderoga, in politics, as represented in Presidential and most lo- 
cal elections, has stood Whig as she now stands Republican. 

The following account of the votes of Ticonderoga, made out from 
the Records in the County Clerk's office,* will be read, we think, with 
interest. It contains all the votes of 1811 and 1813, the two earliest 
recorded, and then skips to 1828, the first year, we believe, in which 
the Electors of President and Vice President were elected by the peo- 
ple. The electors, it will be remembered, were chosen by the Legis- 
lature until 1825. 

ELECTION OF 1811. 

Member of Assembly, Delevan Delance Jr. 
Francis Arthur 

Lieut. Governor, Pc Witt Clinton 

Nicholas Fish 

For Senators, John Taylor, Ruggles Hubbard, 

Kitchcl Bishop & Elisha Arnold, cock 40 " 
Stephen Van Rensselaer, David Allen, 
Leb. R. Shipard, & Wm. Bailey, each 18 " 

ELECTION OF 1813. 

Governor, Stephen Van Rensselaer 40 " 

Daniel D. Tompkins 25 " 

Lieut. Governor, George Huntington 40 " 

John Taylor 25 ' ' 

Senators, \ James Cochran and Samuel Stewart, each 40 " 

John Veeder and Salmon Child, each 25 " 

Assembly, Levi Thompson 108 " 

Ezra C. Gross 1 " 

ELECTION OF 1828. 

Governor, Smith Thompson 169 " 

Martin Van Buren 153 " 

Lieut. Governor, Francis Granger 168 " 

EnosT.Throop 153 " 

* We are gi-eally indebted to R. W. Liviiu;ston, County Clerk and fnrmcr Ed- 
itor of l^hf Elizdhi'thtovn Post, for a day and a half labor grafts m colleet- 
\nii tlic above facts, an exhibition of f^encrous and intelligent regard for local 
interests which we conimeud to the iruitatiou of others. 



69 votes. 


30 


u 


40 


(C 


18 


(( 



WHAT TIC'ONDEROGA DOES. 



73 



Senator, John McLean, Jr. 

Duncan Cameron 
Congresg, Isaac Finch 

William Ilogan 
Electors of Pres. & Vice Pres., Jas. Campbell for 

Joslah Fisk 
Assembly, Joseph S. Weed 

Ezra C. Gross 
Sheriff, Leander J. Stockwood 

Jared Pond 

Horan Heath 
Coroners, Joseph Storrs 

Robert Hawley 

Edmund P. Williams 

Ebenezer Douglass 
' Alanson Mitchell 

KobertForsayth 

Edward S. Cu3'ler 

James Tefft, 2nd. 
Justice of the Peace, Beers Tomlinson 

Richard D. Arthur 
Elections from 1832 to 1836 not recorded. 



169 votes. 

153 '' 

175 " 

151 ♦' 

Jackson 175 " 

151 " 

197 " 

137 " 

147 " 

127 " 

50 " 

159 " 
161 " 

160 " 
147 " 
166 " 

166 " 

167 " 
160 " 
247 " 

63 " 



ELECTION OF 1840. 



Governor, 
Lieut. Governor, 
Senator, 
Congress, 

Electors of Pres. & 
Assembly, 
Sheriff, 
Coroners, 

1844, Electors, 
1848. Electors, 

1852. Electors. 
1856. Electors, 



William H. Seward 276 
William . Bouck 154 
Luther Bradish 277 
Daniel S. Dickinson 154 
John W. Taylor 277 
Gardner Stow 15*4 
Thomas A. Tomlinson 282 
Augustus C. Hand 148 
Vice Pres. Whigs for Harrison 280 
Democrats for Van Buren 150 
George A. Simmons 277 
Hiram Wilson 145 
Alanscm Wilder 276 
George Brown 151 
Adams Fletcher, John Purmont, Jr., 
Nathan Perry &Hosea Treadway, mcli 277 
Artemas White, Russell Gibbs, Rob- 
ert G. Arthur, & L-a Henderson, tach 150 
Whigs for Clay 325 
Democrats for Polk ,i 132 
Whigs for Taylor 293 
Democrats (Hard") 75 
do (Soft or Free Soil) 60 
Whigs for Scoit 268 
Democrats for Pierce 120 
Republicans for Fremont 244 
Democrats for Buchanan 130 
Americans for Fillmore 31 



74 WHAT TXCONDERUGA DOES. 

It will be seen from the above table that Harrison's majority, in 1840, 
was 130 ; Clay's, in 1S44, was 193; Taylor's, in 1848, was 158; 
Scott's, in 1852, was 148 ; Fremont's in 1S56, over both opponents, 
was 83. In local issues the friends of Temperance had a minority at 
first when the question was brought into politics in 1828 ; then for 
years an equality ; and latterly they have a majority. The present 
number of voters, it will be noticed, is 406, while in 1811 it seems to 
have been only about 100. 

Sect. XXX.— Medical Profession and Health. 

Essex County, with its pure air, swift waters, considerable elevation 
and crystal springs, is among the healthiest regions of the state. As a 
town, Ticonderoga combines in high perfection most of the health-giv- 
ing features common to the county. The Upper Village and the Plat- 
eau have always been remarkable for health. Physicians long acquaint- 
ed with the place assure us that they would not fear to risk their repu- 
tation on the assertion that Trout Brook Valley is among the healthiest 
spots of the town or county. Lying elevated near lake Horicon, all its 
.springs emulating the Silver Water for purity, no vegetable or animal 
miasmata afloat, a circulation of pure air kept up by the lake and moun- 
tains, its inhabitants have few bodily ills, and no endemic but cheerful- 
cess. 

Local causes have at times rendered the Lower Village less healthy* 
than its surroundiogs. Billious fever was a very prevalent disease of 
rather malignant character, in the vicinity of the water-power and its 
shores, from about 1828 to 1832. It had a well-ascertained local cause 
in the immense amount of vegetable matter then afloat in the creek. — 
Numerous saw-mills were at that time busy at both the upper and low- 
er falls, and lumbermen had not then learned to use their sb.bsfor wood 
Of lath. All these were sluiced into the creek, which became literally 
full of rotting vegetable fibres. People died of fevers along its shores 
beyond all account. Almost every household was sick with billious fe- 
ver. Cures could not be effected until freezing weather choked the ex- 
halations from the outlet. From the bottom of the lower falls to Port 
Marshall, along the only sluggish currents of the creek, where saw-dust 
bad accumulated many feet deep, these fevers were especially formida- 
ble ; and, from the same causes, this section has always been consider- 
ed the unhealtbiest of the town, especially in those diseases which arise 
from accumulations of decomposing vegetable matter. '"How I have 
seen children shake there," says one of our physicians, "with fever and 
ague, when they were so thick as to stick out at the windows, six fami- 
lies in a house, cellar and garret full." The disease was popularly 
called 'lake fever,' as it occurred in the vicinity of the lake and depend- 
ed upon vegetable miasmata for its origin. Green slime lay on either 
shore of the creek and extended in many places over large marshes of 
lake grass and flag. Water lillics grew fit in thousands. The un- 
healthiness of the locality was urged as an objection to the occupancy 
of the lower falls by the Lowell company about 1825 ; but, they pro- 
posed, what has now been done to some extent, to quicken the current.<l 
by the docks which business would necessitate, and thus largely free the 
creek at once from sluggishness and from impurities. 

Our being more healthy than formerly i.? not owing to any sanitary 



WHAT TICONDEROCA DOES. 75 

regulationa, but is entirely accidental. When lumbermen began to use 
their slabs for lath, people below the mills were healthier. What was 
not used for lath began to be picked out of the stream for wood, and so 
tlie creek was left comparatively clear. Doctors at the time understood 
the causes of the disease, but of course could not control! the lumber- 
men. The health of the Lower Vilhxge, though greatly improved with 
regard to fevers, is yet much below the other parts of the town. Hills 
collect bad air that arises from the creek, from chinneys, and from the 
streets, and basin it up above the village. Certain spots yet suffer from 
accumulations of decaying vegetable matter : even an isolated house or 
yard, habitually unclean, will have an eifect upon the health of the vi- 
cinity. There has been no particular decline or improvement in health 
on the Plateau, at the Upper Village, or in Trout Brook Valley. 

As a town, Ticonderoga has remarkably escaped the great epidemica 
of the country. Few instancesi of cholera, small pox, yellow fever, &c., 
have ever occurred, except imported cases. Genuine typhus fever in 
this locality is a rare disease. Erysipelas is thought to have been more 
fatal in towns around us than here, where it prevailed to a considerable 
extent about 1852. Eiilious fever Is not now called a formidable dis- 
ease, nor scarlet fever, of late years. Of common complaints, croup, 
inflamation of the lungs, consumption, billions and nervous affections, 
Ticonderoga has had no experience differing materially from other sec- 
tions. 

Of bad influences arising from habits of dress, diet and occupation, 
the town is considered remarkably free. Doubtless some girls lace to 
look pretty, and with some young men indulgence is more common 
than industry, but neither fashion nor vice can be as fatal to health 
here as in more wealthy and crowded communities. Excessive or mod- 
erate use of spirituous liquors without que<5tion shortens mens' lives and 
invites disease, and is unhappily among the unhealthy habits of not a 
few, most of whom however take care to keep the fact as secret as it is 
disreputable. In the houses of the town creditable attention is given 
to cleanliness and ventilation, but not always to warmth, it being 
thought that many of our dwellings are too slight, frail and airy, for 
the severe winters. Especially is this true of some poor families, ex- 
posed at times to the weather, with improper or insufiicient diet, among 
whom disease more often calls for sympathy than among any other class. 

Among the first physicians settled in this town, as early as ISOO and 
previous to its organization, was Dr. Wilcox. He continued in the un- 
interrupted pursuit of his profession for over thirty-five years and was 
considered a judicious and successful practitioner. In the spring of 
1822 he received Dr. John Smith as a partner in business for the term 
of six years. From the expiration of that period to the present time 
Dr. Smith has enjoyed a regular and extensive practice. In 1838 he 
removed an Apothecary's Shop from the Upper to the Lower Village 
where he has since kept a general assortment of medicines, a great con- 
venience to the town and to physicians in the immediate vicinity. Be- 
tween 1830 and 1839 several young physicians settled in this town 
among whom were Lemuel Weeks, and Alex. Spencer. In 1839 Doct. 
A. B. Nickerson came from Crownpoint to Ticonderoga and has re- 
mained in the pursuit of his profession most of the time since. Subse- 
quently to 1840, Docts. C. Hall, Vaughn, and H. S. Smith have been 



76 WHAT TICONDEROGA DOES. 

settled here for transient periods. Doct. W. P. Gannon, a young pLy- 
sician,'came to Ticondeioga in 1S54, and has had an increasing prac- 
tice to the present time. Some Hydropathic publications are regularly 
received by different families in town and not a few of their teachings 
followed, but no doctor avowing that system, nor a Homeopathist, or 
Eclectic, has ever disturbed in Ticonderoga the reign of Allopathy. 
Sect. XXXI.— Temperance. 
The great wave of Temperance effort, slowly rising from the begin- 
ning of the century and receiving an immense impetus in 1S26 from 
the organization of the American Temperance Society at Boston, did 
not roach Ticonderoga till 1828. First to welcome it, were the mem- 
bers of Christian Churches. At the ordination of Kev. A. C. Tuttle 
over the church on Mt. Hope in 182S, the ministers convened in the 
evening at the district school house near by, discussed the subject, and 
resolved to form in Ticonderoga a Temperance Society under the old 
pledge of abstinence from ardent spirits. Two venerable pastors pres- 
ent had been accustomed for years to refresh themselves after a hard 
day's labor for the Lord by a draught at night of the devil's beverage, 
but were ready now tojenounce the practice, and all went heartily for 
the great reform. Some of the church members thought the pledge re- 
quired them to sign away their rights, and not a few felt backward 
about giving up the privilege of making beasts of themselves, but the 
pastors were enlightened, and under their leadership the society suc- 
ceeded. Almeron Smith, supervisor, member of the Legislature, and 
a very prominent and worthy citizen, was one of the most active and ef- 
ficient members of this early organization. Largely devoting his time, 
his talent, his social position and his money to the furtherance of Tem- 
perance, he ought to be remembered as the standard bearer of the fir-st 
vigorous assault upon what has ever been one of the gravest social evils 
of our town. To a certain blacksmith, habitually intoxicated, he offer- 
ed a cow if the man would quit drinking for one year. The blacksmith 
earned and received the cow, and afterwards became a worthy Temper- 
ance man. \ 

So well-rooted were habits of intemperance, so popular the traffic in 
ardent spirits, and so thick the darkness that hung over the public mind, 
that, despite the necessity and ability of this first effort, its promoters, 
whom we honor to-day among the first friends of the town, were then 
but a unpopular and persecuted minority. It was an actual war, noble 
but severe, carried into politics, business, and some departments of so- 
cial life. Rumselling was considerably dried up, over a third of the vo- 
ters of the town pledged ; but, with the most strenuous efforts, a ma- 
jority at elections was very rarely attained. When the actual conflict 
came two or three were left to stand out and face the foe alone, while 
the masses, then as now, under the very popular standard of Good Lord, 
Good devil, stood inactive, ready to claim credit for the buccess of the 
one, or to quietly acquiesce in the victory of the other. 

Imtaensc quantities of liquor were sold during the activity of the 
Lumber Business, from 1828 to about 1840, from nearly every store 
in town, llardlj a family in this vicinity can be mentioned who have 
not tasted the vi'oes of Intemperance in person or in some relative. — 
Aroused by the extent of financial, moral, and social evil resulting from 
•^be traffic, Ticonderoga about 1846 voted No License almo&t unani- 



WHAT TICONDEROGA DDKS. 77 

Diously, and experienced most gratifying results ; but the opposition to 
Temperance being fierce and the privilege of a direct vote on the ques- 
tion of sale being at last taken out of their hands, our citizens were 
again left to the mercies of the consumer's appetite, and of the vender's 
avarice. 

The Washingtonian movement of 1840 and onward was powerfully 
felt in Ticonderoga. Some of the most besotted drunkards were pledg- 
ed, reformed, and made officers and speakers in Temperance assem- 
blies. One or two now crawling about, ragged and sore and shattered 
to the point of dissolution, were in those days sober, and clean ^ and in 
their right mind 

Since 1S49 organizations have existed in Ticonderoga more or less 
efficient according to their membership and the existing Temperance 
laws, for the suppression of intemperance. 

For four years, probably no society of its size ever effected more 
good in Ticonderoga than the Sons of Temperance, organized mainly 
by the efforts of Isaac N. Parker, with twenty-three charter members, 
under the title of the Mt. Defiance division, Dec. 14, 1849. It elFeet- 
ed the reform of several inebriates, some of the lowest cast, and some 
that were men of mind, who held their pledge till their death. It ex- 
erted considerable restraint upon rumselling, and had influence, gener- 
ally well-directed, at elections. It was also quite prominently beneficial 
educationally to all its members, addresses, essays, debate, and the con- 
stant use of parliamentary forms, being among the required exercises 
of the Order. 

We append from their Records a list of the charter members and 
Worthy Patriarchs of this Division: 

CHARTER MEMBERS. 
Jliram Fields,* Orin D. Ramsay, 

^ John A. Pinchln,* William S. Fleraming,* 

Nelson Porter, M. L. Maranville, 

Andrew M. Pinchin,* F. Felton, 

Francis Porter, H. D. Wyatt,* 

Oliver P. PiDchin, Silas H. Mills,* 

Wm. Calkins,* Isaac B. Flemming,* 

Joseph Hanna, Justin Naiamore, 

Charles McMullan, A. R. Lemon, D. G. W. P.,* 

A. C. Calkins, S. A. Eugbee, 

H. Q. Burleigh,* C. W. Hall.* 

Walter G. Ramsay. 

W. PS.-KOT CHARTER MEMBERS. 
Lucius G. Larrabee, A. H. Treadway, 

Wm. E. Calkins, D. G. W. P., Edward Burt, 
L. Baldwin, J. B. Ramsay, 

A. L. Bennett, C. F. Pinchin, 

B. F. Frazier, L. II. Barber. 
• Worthy Patriarcb. Several W. P?. Rc-clocted. 

At times the Sons of Temperance in Ticonderoga numbered as high 
as 140, and interesting division meetings were held gf mingled Sons, 
Daughters and Cadets'. Lecturers were occasionally engaged and pub- 
lic meetings held, in which the citizens of the town wore interested and 



78 WHAT TICONDEROGA DOES. 

aroused at the expense of the division. Among the lecturers brought 
forward by the Sons of Temperance were, Geo. W. Bungay, now of 
considerable celebrity in the literary world ; Rev. Olmste^d now of 
Bridport ; Rev. Kittrcdge Havens, pastor of the Universalist Church 
in Shoreham, Vt. ; Hon. Phillip S. White, an eloquent speaker from 
Philadelphia; E. D. Baker, of the Sandy Hill Herald; Mr. A. A. 
Farr, a Traveling agent ; and F. J. Cook, a young man of the town. 
Rev. Havens at a celebration of the Sons, in which several divisions ap- 
peared in regalia, particularly defended the Order^from the charge of 
secrecy ; other lecturers spoke to the inebriate ; Hon, P. S. White 
against license and existing legal provisions ; others, upon the general 
evils of intemperance ; and P. J. Cook, in 18.55, upon the worth and 
wars of Prohibition. Many of the worthiest citizens of the place and 
strong Temperance men never joined the Sons though approving their 
objects, much persuasion not being able to overcome their prejudice 
against the alledged secrecy of the Order. 

The short reign of Prohibition in Ticonderoga in 1855 was trammel- 
ed by the inefficiency of prosecutors, the indifference of lawyers, and 
the prevalent doubts as to the constitutionaHty of the Statute. Howev- 
er, with all these draw backs, Temperance men were never so hopeful, 
intoxication never so rare, and illegal sales never so few, so cautious, and 
so infamous. The town had time enough to know that the law was 
good from the fear of the vender, from the sobriety of the consumer, 
and from the hopeful activity of the friends of social virtue, until all 
was crushed by the adverse decision of the Court of Appeals. 

When Prohibition thus fell and License afterward prevailed, Tem- 
perance men in Ticonderoga as elsewhere seemed to loose hope, while 
in exact if not greater proportion, venders and consumers took courage. 
The hall of the Sons of Temperance, a convenient two-story building 
erected in 1851 by Wm. E. Calkins, was burnt in 1857, and just he^ 
fore in March, of the same year, the Sons of Temperance, reduced in 
numbers by deaths and emigration, and somewhat discouraged, perma- 
nently disbanded. Not a pulsation of Temperance effort existed in 
town, while seven unlicensed groceries sold openly, and men, almost ev- 
ery day, were intoxicated in the streets. 

In this state of things it occurred to a young man of the town that 
something ought to be done, who immediately drew up with consider- 
able care a pledge or constitution for an organization embracing "'Uni- 
ted Example, Popular Instruction and Legal Prohibition" as the ob- 
jects of effort, presented the plan to the three pastors and several prom- 
inent citizens of the town, whose hearty approval secured the organiza- 
tion, at a meeting held at the Brick Church, Oct. 29, 1857, in which 
the plan proposed was presented with arguments, of the Peoples' Tem- 
perance Alliance. 

To this pledge, embracing the principles of Total Abstinance, of 
Prohibition, and especially of Public Instruction by Lectures, the pas- 
tors of the town. Rev. L. N. Boudrye, Rev. D. H. Gould, Rev. S. 
Wright and others, soon obtained nearly five hundred signatures, em- 
bracing, with a view to unite the whole strength of the community, both 
sexes and children, and a larger number of voters and heads cf fami- 
lies, it is believed, than were ever before pledged in the town. An Ex- 
ecutive Committee of seven, to be elected annually, was provided for 



WHAT TiCO^bEUOGA DOES. 70 

ia tbc constitution adopted "whose duty it shall be to procure the exe- 
cution in the town of Ticonderoga of sill legal provisions of the State 
of New York against the use and sale of intoxicating drinks, and for 
this purpose, if necessary, a sinking fund shall be raised by voluntary 
potet* from members of the Alliance." Farmer Wm. H. Cook pledg- 
ed "one hundred dollars to be at the disposal of any committee who 
will sweep rumselling out of town, execute the laws and not make boy 
play of it;" farmer Russell Bly another hundred; farmer Hiram Kimp- 
ton another hundrecL; and farmer George Wright half a hundred more. 
Meetings were to bffTield "once a month at least from October to April 
and during the rest of the year as often as Executive Committee shall 
direct." The officers for the first year were as follows: President^ 
Benj. H. Baldwin ; Vice Presidents, J. Ramsay, A. L. Bennet, Wm. 
E. Calkins, and J. A. Pinchin ; Secretary, Clayton H. Delano; acting 
members of the Execuiive Committee, B. H. Baldwin, J, Ramsay, W. 
H. Cook, A. L. Bennett, B. F. Frazier. 

A report of the Executive Committee of the Alliance, states the 
results of the organization thus far as follows: — 

"The public sentiment of our town and surroundings has never been so high, 
healthy ami strong, as now, against drunkenness and rumselling and in favor of 
Prohibition. It is thought that in this town the Temperance men are Jive-sev- 
enths in power where they would not have been one half as strong but for the 
Alliance. 

"Brawls, street scenes and grocery turbulence are almost unkno-wn where 
heretofore we were disgraced with them. The liquor-sellers have been exceed, 
ingly cautious and have reason to know that their business is deprecated by a 
largo majority of their fellow citizens. 

'•Once in four weeks during the past winter this town and the surrounding.^ 
have expressed themselves against the rum traffic, by attendance upon the Alli- 
ance meetings, in numljers exciting at once gratitude and surprise. 

"Instructive summaries of Temperance news in regard to the state of the 
cause throughout the world have been compiled and read at each meeting by 
the Secretary, Mr. Clayton H. Delano, for the general information of the Al- 
liance.* 

"A course of lectures has been delivered by F. J. Cook, to large and atten- 
tive audiences. The series has embraced the following sulijects, viz : — 

1. Intoxicating Beverages — their composition, adulterations, and physic- 
al effects.- At the White Church, Nov. 30, 1857. 

2. Alcohol and the Human Brain. — At the Brick Church, Dec. 28, 1857. 

3. Histotical Jieview of Tempera?ice Effort and Legislation for the last 
Hal f Century. First Part, from ISOO to IS'dC. — At the White Church, Jan. 
25, 1858. 

4. Historical Review, Sfc, continued. Second Part, from 1836 to 1858. — 
At the Brick Church, Feb. 22, 1858. 

5. Rejorm — its Agents, its Objects, its Difficulties, and its Meqgns of Vic- 
tory.— \i the White Church, May 3, 1858. 

6. Civil Position and Resultant Duties of the Common People. — At the 
Brick Church, June 13, 1858. 

"These lectures have been highly satisfactory to a candid public, and promo- 
tive in no small measure of a more healthy tone of public sentiment and action 
in reference to tlie evils of the traffic and the proper remedy for its abatement. 

By special request of friends out of town the second of the above lectures w.-ts 
repeated at Westport and at Hague ; the first two at Fort Henry; and the first 
four at Putnam and at Crownpoint."' 

"The pledge of the Alliance has been given to the County in the JVorfhern 
Standard and Eiscx County Republican ; recommended "for use throughout 

* Lectures from C. II. Uclauo, arc cxpcc,lcfl the comins winter. 



yO WHAT TICONDEROGA D0E5. 

the State" by the JVew York Reformer of Jefferson Co.. and to the people at 
large by the Journal and Prohibitionist in New York City.* 

"As to Legal Action tlie Committee would remind the members of the Alli- 
ance that we are organized to labor for a Prohibitory Liquor Law, the present 
f<ysteiu of License being confessedly ineffective, immoral, and iindesired byfthc 
people. Yet, as our Alliance Pledge requires, the inferior law has been up- 
held as far as possible. Five suits have been commenced by the commissioners 
of excise for the violation of the present law in our town, in selling without a 
license. and two complaints made for dvunkemiess which resulted as follows: Of the 
first five, four confessed judgment, one was fined for intoxication, and another 
settled at the county court by paying the costs of the prosecuting parties and 
indemnifying the county. The committee regret very de^ly that more efficient 
help has not been obtainable in enforcing the law. 

"In conclusion the Committee would suggest to every member: 

1. That the Alliance has but just began its work, being organized for effort 
"until Prohibition, or something better, shall be secured, sustained and perpet- 
nated," and that the foregoing results have been accomplished at a time of gen- 
eral apathy and backwardness of Temperance men throughout the State. 

2. That it be a matter of mutual watchfulness and effort to adhere strictly to 
all the duties enumerated in the Alliance Pledge. ' 

3. That the recommendation of the New York State Temperance Society to 
vote for the proposed convention to revise the constitution with a view to .insert 
therein a Prohibitory Liquor Clause, be adopted."' 

*As ■'signing and executing this pledge constitutes membership" in the Alua>x'e, it properly 
forms a part of the Homk SKEiaiES. Its plan of organiziition, list of duties and provisions are as fol- 
lows : — 
To .MD i\ SKcuRixG, srsTAixiNG, AXD PERPETriATiNG A PROHIBITORY LIQUOR LAW, IX OUR OWN State, 

and TO PROMOTE THE CAVSE OF TEMPERANCE GENERALLY, 

We, the undersigned, firmly relying upon (iod's Word and Providence for the necessity, the jus- 
tice, and the trimnph of our cause, do mutually, individually, and heartily resolve, and hereliy 
sftcredly jiledge to each other, that henceforth, until the above objects or something better shall bo 
attained, we will, 

I. Each of us, according to his position, best judgement, and the number who shall join in the 
work, apportion and set olf to himself a certain definite sphere for tenipcranc<; effort ; if a farmer, 
among his help ; if a tradesman, among his customers ; if a laborer, among his companions ; if a 
jKistor, among his people, &c,; until the whole town is fully taken up, and each post definitely oc- 
cupied. 

II. In person, in family, and in all those whom we employ, (1) require the strictest abstinonro 
from alcoholic liquors as a beverage; (2) secure some definite system of instruction in the history 
of the Temperance Reform, in the nature, uses, and necessary effects of intoxicating drinks, and es- 
pecially in the local duties of our sphere. 

IIL Among the people in our circle of influence, (1) scatter temperance papers, secure occasion- 
al lectures,assemblies for the discussion of the cause, and every means of instruction within reach; 
(•2) use every suitable opportunity to show the defects of the license system as proved by its tri- 
al and failure for two hundred years, and by its results in the increase of pauperism, crime, and 
taxes, but fiiithl'ully support, nevertheless, inferior temperance laws and all legal provisions as far 
as they yield good fruits, yet making Prohibition alone the finality ; (3) call to mind, most clearly 
and persistently, the arguments which may refute,couvert,and arouse anti-prohibitionists, the bless- 
ings which did flow from the Maine Law where best enforced, and what benefits in taxes, in virtue, 
in health, in safety, in progress, must ensue to the farmer, the tradesman, the manufacturer, tho 
schools, the church, and every department of community by Prohibition; (4) avoid bitter dispute, 
and steadily illustrate and recommend the Truth, to the understandings and consciences of all, by 
tho arguments of consistency, of philanthropy, of sound instruction, and of fearless and untiring la- 
bor. 

IV. Among public officers, (1) early be vigilant that right men arc nominated; (2) at the ballot 
box, strenuously endeavor to secure such changes in public sentiment, in the legislature, in the ju- 
diciary, and if necessary in the Constitution of the State, as shall effectual!}' promote tho vit;il in- 
terests of Prohibition, with a suitable regard to other great issues; (3) sustain and encourage pub- 
lic officers to the utmost in the discharge of their duty and hold them up to pubUc contempt in its 
neglect. 

V. Among our friends (1) allow no trifling differences of opinion or modes of action to lessen tho 
barmony and efficiency of the effort for Prohibition; (2) secure the activity of every church mem- 
ber, and bring the forces of the sabbath school and the pulpit to effect as much as possible for the 
instruction of the young, the arousing of the community, and the triumph of Bible Temperance as 
the basis of individual action and of public policy. 

\'I. At suitable intervals meet together for mutual encouragement and consultation, to hear def- 
inile reports from each neighborhood, and to discuss publicly before the people the wants of the 
Inwn, the progress of the cause, and such other topics, in connection with Temperance, as may ri- 
pcii. the undeistanding, iiislrui t the judgment, and promote the vital interests of every citizen. 

VII. And we, the undersigned ladies and children, in order to iinitc tho whole strengtn of tha 
•■onimuiiify in the above effort, in view of our interests concerned thercin.and of our responsibility 
in the formation of character, for the happiness of ouv families and tijo moral health of society, do 
h<T('by pledge ourselves, n.s far as our position allows in our several spheres, by every approfiriatc 
lueaus, to work with oin- husbands and friends for the object sought by the above resululions. 

Ticonderoga, Essex Co.. N. Y., Sej^t. 5, 1S57. 



WHAT TICONDEROGA DOF.S. 81 

• As far as it goes the above report is correct, though it omits of course 
something of the darker side. !Many citizens of the town are indiffer- 
ent, many tearful, many discouraged, and none sufficiently awake con- 
cerning the suppression of one of the gravest private, social, and pub- 
lic immoralities of our town and nation Low views of the crime of 
licensing a man to manufacture paupers and mad-men, and lower views 
still of the infamy of the traffic, of a man's obtaining a part of his liv- 
ing by ministering to the vices of his fellow men, serving them in trade 
with articles to gratify their appetites and lusts, and known to have the 
most pernicious influence upon individual character and society at large, 
every where prevail. The true statement of the case, severe as it may 
appear, is that Avarice, Appetite, and Ignorance triumph over Con- 
science and Reason. Many old friends of the cause despond, not re- 
membering that "a living dog Is better than a dead lion," and that only 
they who endure to the end shall be crowned. All the stores of the 
town honorably quit the traffic long ago, generally as early as 1840, J. 
Weed as early as 1831, except one store on Elm Street, now licensed. 
Liquor can be obtained illegally at about half a dozen groceries, and 
probably at two hotels. The people have always lacked the aid of a 
thorough, whole-souled, able Temperance man among the lawyers of 
the town, most of whom have been found on the other side. But no 
obstacles would justify apathy ; no opposition, fear. 

In view of young men corrupted, families distressed, public peace in- 
secure and laws human and divine outraged, it is certainly high time 
that individuals, societies and states should substitute practical action 
for weak regrets, deeds for wordy promises, moral courage for interest- 
ed caution, unbending justice for a fear-born forbearance, and sincere 
charity for that mock kindness which proves its regard for the few by 
turning traitor to the many, and its love for its neighbor by forgetting 
its allegiance to God. 

Sect- XXZII.— Education. 

Among the early settlers of the town not a few were men of educa- 
tion themselves, and these, deeply imbued with regard for the district 
schnoh which had been one of the first objects of attention in New Eng- 
land towns from which they had chiefly emigrated, early sought here 
the same advantages for their children. Again, during the activity of 
the lumber trade, the vigor of effort in that department seemed to be 
imparted to the supervision of education also, and some excellent se- 
lect schools were enjoyed. Next, as Academies rose around Ticonde- 
roga in the State, many of the young men and some of the young la- 
dies of the town were sent abroad to enjoy their privileges. Lastly, an 
important movement has been made, to supply home wants and improve 
the town, in the founding of The Ticonderoga Academy. 

Such are the four period.s in the educational history of Ticonderoga, 
now to be sketched somewhat in detail, the writer desiring any redun- 
dant fullness of treatment to be pardoned to his intense interest ia the 
subject and its immense importance to the town. 

1. DISTRIOT SCHOOLS. 
In a previous section we have sketched some of the trials, and pecu- 
liarities of the early district schools in Ticonderoga. The first school 
houses, built between 1700 and 1800, were warmed by large open firc= 



82 TVilAT XICOKDLKOGA DOKS. 

places. Children of the present generation would be somewhat startled 
to be sent to school in the morning with a large dog to keep oS the bears, 
to study all day by the crackle of great back-sticks and fore-sticks and 
the nibbling of snow against the narrow window-panes, to hear the howl- 
ins of wolves as the mistress called the roll at dusk, and to see her 
take down a heavy rifle or old musket, perched all day above the door, 
to guard the way home. Such, however, were the scenes, in 1800, in 
many a back-woods district school. 

Somewhat later a second class of school houses was built, some of 
which have endured to the present day. They were nearly all planned 
with an entry in one corner ; a single tier of elevated desks running 
around the four sides for the larger scholars ; in front o{ these a low 
seat for the little children, and a large square space, the master and the 
stove, in the middle. Nothing could have been less economical of heat 
except open doors and windows, and when time began to loosen the 
clapboards, shake apart the window frames, jar open the ceiling, and 
heave asunder the foundations of these old houses, it was one man's 
full work to keep Ihem warm, especially with green hemlock and birch 
for fuel. The arrangement however brought all the little scholars out 
in front, and wondrous things did they think of the dignity of the big 
boys and girls in those stately back seats into which they were never al- 
lowed to enter, and wondrous fears had they of the master's ferule, so 
near, and so portentous. Only two of ihese old houses yet exist in 
town, banked, patched, and shivered in, fitter for sheep-sheds than 
Bchool-rooms. 

About 1S50, by the efforts of school superintendents, commissioners, 
and trustees, the districts were aroused and several new district school 
houses were built, of an improved style. Planned with rows of desks 
of different heights cut by aisles, they combined convenience for the 
scholar with economy of space and of heat. The school houses at the 
Street, the Upper Village, and in Trout Brook Valley, fro among the 
largest lately erected, and provided with a speaker's desk, or, as is the 
case with the last one mentioned, with a small pulpit, the buildings be- 
intr regularly used for religious meetings. Little more attention has 
been paid to beautifying the grounds around our school houses and ren- 
dering them attractive to the scholar, than as if they had been so inany 
barns. Not a school house of the town has a fenced yard ; not one has 
a tree near it except by accident ; and only two or three have any de- 
cent pretense for a wood-shed or out-building. The interior supply of 
maps, charts, globes, apparattus, and especially of blackboards, with 
one or two exceptions, is very defective. District school libraries are 
often kept with lamentable negligence. Parents rarely visit the schools, 
and the thousand children of the town are left to the care of teachers 
with less supervision than its thousand head of cattle would receive if 
committed for care to one not their owner. While thcse facts must 
.necessarily be stated in making out a true record of the condition of 
our district schools at the present time,, the more favorable fact should 
not be omitted that better teachers are now sought even at higher wa- 
ges, and that the districts are ready to make improvements as iast as 
they judge their means will permit. That judgment, however, is loo 
often biassed by a parsimony, as mistaken as it is fatal, with regard to 



WHAT TICOXDF.ROSA DOES. 83 

what can be afforded for education, and by an insensibility to the duty 
of personal effort, which cannot bo too speedily eradicated. 
2. SELECT SCHOOLS. 

It may be stated ger/erally that Ticonderoga has enjoyed the disci- 
pline of select schoold nearly every year from 1&20 to-the present time; 
that the teachers have usually been well qualified, many of them col- 
lege graduates ; and that the number of scholars has been between for- 
ty and fifty. The erection of a building for select schools was agitated, 
but never begun. 

Among the teachers' names which we have been able to recover in 
the absence of all records pertaining to these schools, are those of Miss 
Hemmenway of Bridport, who taught a Ladies' School at the Upper 
Village previous to 1820; Amassa Stewart, a graduate of Middlehury 
College, teachin^iQ 1S20, in the second story of the old red grist-mill 
at the lower falls ; Mr. Beebee, from Chester, who about 1826-7, 
taught in the house now occupied by Mr. Barber, a select school and a 
good one ; Rev. Burt, an Episcopal Clergyman, teacher from about 
1827 to 1830 ; and Joseph Delano, a teacher of a select school here, 
previous to 1830. 

Of the few Select school teachers who have been permanent citizens 
of the town, and connected with our educational interests for a course 
of years, Wm. Calkins is almost the only example. After a two years 
course of study at Dartmouth College and experience as teacher at 
JSuriington, Waterbury, and Stowe, Vt., and Whitehall, N. Y., he 
came to TJbonderoga in 1S31 and for several years was teacher of a 
large district school at the Upper Village. In 1833 he established a 
Select School at the same place with about 50 scholars, from all parts 
of the town, which he continued up to 1835, when he removed, to the 
Lower Village and practiced law. As commi.-sioner, and by virtue of 
that office under the old law, inspector, and also as superintendent for 
many years in succession, he remained always actively devoted to the 
educational interests of the town, and perhaps did more in that direc- 
tion than any other citizen. All the children, all the families of the 
town, lost a friend by his death, in 1855. Dr. John Smith, as commis- 
sioner and superintendent, has always taken profound interest in s.chools, 
and his activity for their good has been limited only by his professional 
duties. Capf. L. C. Larrabee will be long remembered by the many to 
whom he gave instruction. Hon. J. Burnett, and several other promi- 
nent citizens of the town, have exerted strong influence in favor of its 
educational interests. 

Several -excellent select schools were kept in the Spencer bnildings, 
on Central Exchange Street, between 1837 and 1^50. The first teach- 
er there was Lucia Calkins. One of the most prosperous sessions was 
that taught by Mr Barker and lady. Scholars were attracted from 
Crownpoint, Schroon and Hague, over 50 in all. Abner Benedict, 
brother to Prof Benedict of Burlington, and now an eminent lawyer 
in N. Y. City, taught an excellent school immediately after Mr. Bar- 
ker. "Wm. Spencer, the proprietor of the buildings, already mention- 
ed in the section on Tanneries, effected much for the bast interest.? of 
the town by keeping the school-room steadily open every year. 

In the Son's Hall, in the Exchange, in the Brick Store, and under 
the Store of Mr. Field:;, a largo number of small select schools have 



84 ,WliAl 1 ILOMJKKOGA DOiVi. 

been kept, many of them latterly by young ladie§ of the town. While 
noQe have been without a beneficial influence, few have come up to ihe 
demands of their friends, and all have shown the necessity of sending 
scholars abroad, or of the Ticonderoga Academy. 

3. SCHOLARS SENT ABROAD. 

Some thousands of dollars go from Ticonderoga annually to maintain, 
its vouth at distant schools. Keeseville Academy and the institution 
at Fort Edward have received the largest share of patronage ; but sin- 
gle scholars have been sent to IMeriden, to Charlotteville, to Whitehall, 
to Andover, and to Canada, and young men of the town have gradu- 
ated at Dartmouth, Williams, and Colombia colleges. Young ladies 
have as frequently received education abroad as young men, though 
not to the same extent in the course of study. Many fathers, moth- 
ers and whole families have practiced industry, economy, and selt-deni- 
al, worthy of most reverent honor, that a son or daughter might have 
superior preparation for life and usefulness. Some young men have 
started out alone with only their own right hands and unconquerable 
will, and earned education, influence,and prosperous positions. A com- 
plaint of the town is that it has given birth to many prominent and 
able men, only to loose them when prepared for action. Some, as wor- 
thy of being sent abroad as any, could ill bear the expense ; and hence 
have hailed with delight the organization of a long-needed institution 
at home. 

4. THE TICONDEROGA ACADEINIY. » 

Necessity originated the idea of the Ticonderoga Academy. A sense 
of duty, a desire for improvement, and a consciousness of financial abili- 
ty, among the people of the town, carried it to completion. -Toward the 
end of January, 1858, it occurred to a young man then keeping the 
district school at the Back Street that Ticonderoga needed a good high 
school and was able to sustain one. Believing that, with proper effort, 
a building might be erected and a course of academical instruction be- 
gun therein before the year should close, a resolution to labor for those 
ends immediately followed. Having communicated the idea to Messrs. 
W. H. Cook and E. Downs, by whom it was enthusiastically received, 
discussed the probable amount of subscriptions, site, cost, and number 
of scholars, the young man felt it a duty to bring the proposition be- 
fore the town, and accordingly drew up and afterwards circulated and 
defended, the following 

"formation paper for a high school or academy in ticon- 
deroga, N. y. 

"It is believed that Ticonderoga (1) needs a good High School, and (2) that 
the town is able to support one. 

I. The number of young men and women in our district schools ; the amount 
spent yearly in sending children from our town to other places for instruction ; 
the uncertain and inferior privileges otl'ercd by our present Select Schools ; the 
desire of parents for some institution near home, less expensive and yet perma- 
nent and worthy in which their children can receive that education fitted to the 
growing demands of the age, are among the considerations which show the need 
of the proposed Higli School, not to mention how much such an institution would 
restrain social evils, strengthen moral reforms, elevate courteous tastes, invigo- 
rate public sentiment, and favor the financial interests of the town. 

II. To show the ability of the town to support such a school, the above ne- 



WHAT TICONDKKOGA bOES. S^y 

cessity is to be lii'St considered; then the wealtli and ontcrprise of the town ; the 
numbei" of its young men and women ; its location in the centre of a large dis- 
trict unsiipjdied with any but district echools 5 its situation upon the very thor- 
oughfare of fashionable traVel ; tlie attractiveness which an institution, other- 
wise worthy, might acquire abroad, from standing on Burgoyne's Mt. Hope, fac- 
ing tlie Green Mountains, and overlooking the outlet of Lake George, the scene 
t>f Abercombie's dwfcat, Mt. Deliance and the ruins of Fort Ticouderoga ; the 
success of similar institutions ; the plan of financial support hereinafter propos- 
ed ; and the power of wise, uiuted and persevering eftbrt in a good cause, from 
■which considerations it will appear that in starting the proposed institution there 
•would be no exti'aordinary obstacle but nearly every ground for conlidence in be- 
ginning and surety in executing a permanent success. 

Therkfore. it is proposed, by the favor of Providence, to take measures for 
founding and sustaining a permanent and worth-v High School or Acad- 
emy in Ticonderoga, N. Y., after the following plan. 

Citizens of the town shall be stockholders of the institution, to incur first all 
expenses of starting the school, and to receive in return all the proceeds arising 
from tuition or board furnished by the establishment, from which teachers' sala- 
ries and all other out goes necessary for the worthiest support of the school shall 
be paid, and the surplus, if any, distributed rightfully to the stockhokkrs as a 
revenue. Shares shall be transferable, in case of the removal of the holders 
from town, always however to citizens of Ticonderoga. A competent Board of 
Trustees and Directors shall be chosen to oversee and regulate, under the guid- 
ance of a Constitution and by Laws, the business matters and various interests of 
the Institution." 
, Ticonderoga, Monday, Feb. 1, 1858. 

These were the two propositions, the arguments sustaining each, and 
the plan, with which effort for the Academy was begun. On present- 
ing this paper the morning after drawing it to farmer Russell Ely in 
his barn threshing oats, he said immediately : "I will pledge to that 
enterprise $100, only be sure to have no sham, no failure." It Wiss 
next taken to D. S. Gibbs, and on Saturday, Feb. 6, presented to farm- 
er G. D. Clark. "When you speak of such things 1 have nothing else 
to do :" said he, "if you wish to canvass the town mv Blackhawk shall 
go as long as he can stand up." "A thousand dollars, then, for the 
Academy before that sun sets," was the reply, and the two canvassers 
rode away over the snows to farmers Kimpton, Phelps, Grant, B. P. 
Delano, T. Delano, D. McCaughin and to the village, and nt four 
o'clock had realized their expectations, set the town to talking, and 
moreover paced off and marked a site for the building, afterwards ad- 
opted, on the sunny southern side of Mt. Hope. 

On the following Sabbath, a notice was read, with favorable com- 
ments by Revs. D. H. Gould and S. Wright, as follows : 

"Notice.— A meeting will be held at Mr. Tefft's Hotel, in this A-illr.ge. on 
Wednesday evening, Feb. 10, 1858, to consider what can be done toward found- 
ing and sustaining a permanent and worthy High Scliool or Academy in Ticon- 
deroga, N. Y. Every citizen admits that Ticonderoga need.i a good High 
School ; and, after carefully considering the number of children taught in town 
(659 by the census of 1850) ; the amount spent in sending scholars abroad, (not 
less than $;1000 a year from our town) ; the location of Ticonderoga on t!ie thor- 
oughfare of fashionable travel ; its position in the centre of a large district un- 
supplied witU any but district schools; the wealth and enterprise of the town 
(^1000 having already been Eubscril)ed for this object) ; it is firmly believed that 
such a school can be maintained to be an honor and a blessing to the town. All 
interested in the above object are requested to be present at the meeting, espec- 
ially freeholders and heads of families. By request of several citizens. 

Sabbath, Feb. 7, 1858. 

To supply home wants was the main end in view — to provide a good 
school for home scholars. Very little stress, of course, was laid upou 



p.X) WHAT riC0M)l::RUGA DOLS. \ 

the hope of foreign Bcbolars or of dividends, thougli reference was mncTe 
to both among the arguments used. P^very favorable fact was needed, 
for the croalvings of the hopeless or indifferent already prophesied thai 
every thing would fail. The Records thus commence : * , * 

TicoNDERooA, Wednesday Eve., Fch. 10, 1S5S. 

At a meeting of the citizens of Ticonderoga. held at the hotel kept by Mnj. 
James Tetft ou the tenth day of February, 1S58, for the purpose of considering 
the propriety of foundiiis: and maintaining a vforthy High School or Acad; my 
in said town, the following persons were present :—BeiiJ. Cheney, Wm. Lindley, 
>]. Downs, C. V. Sawyer. -1 from the Street ; G. D. Clark, H. Kimpton. C. II. Del- 
ano. T. Delano. B. p' Delano, 5 fi-om the north part of the town; W. H. Cook 
and F. J. Cook. 2 from Trout Brook Valley; A. J. Cook, 1 from the Upper Vil- 
lage and vicinity; W. E. Calkins. G. C. AVeed. "W. A. G. Arthur, L. R. Sayres, 
It"v. D. 11. Gould, A. L. Bennett, B. H. Baldwin, H. G. Burleigh, C. D. Smith, 
N. Porter, and C. Bugbee, 11, with some young men as spectators, from the Low- 
er Village. 

Hiram Kimpton was chosen President ; and Clayton H. Delano, Secretary. 

Voted, on motion of F. J. Cook, That we discuss the feasibility of our plan 
and the bej^t means of sustaining an Academy. 

Voted, on motion of F. J. Cook, That the following paper be signed by the 
Btockholders and define their privileges, viz : 

We, the vn lersigned, hereby agree to pay the sums set opposite our names 
for the purpose of founding and maintaining a permanent and icorthy 
'High School or Academy in Ticonderoga, A". F. Every twenty-five dollars 
signed shall constitute a share and entitle to one vote in the disposal of the 
funds. 

Voted, on motion of F, J. Cook, That a committee of five be appointed by 
this meeting to propose the size, cost and location of the proposed building. B. 
V. Delano, Russell Bly. A. J. Cook, W. H. Cook and Wm. E. Calkins were ap- 
pointed as such committee. 

Voted, on motion of H. G. Burleigh. That a committee of three be appointed 
to solicit subscriptions of stock. Wm. E. Calkins, W. A. G. Ai'thur, and G. D. 
Clark were appointed as such committee. 

Voted, to adjourn until Feb. 18, 1858. 

CLAYTON H. DELANO, Secretary. 

On adjourning, $1400 bad been subscribed to the paper given above 
in italics. On the following Sabbath it was announced from the pulpits 
t!mt $1800 had been sub.scribed. G-. D. Clark had devoted whole days 
to canvassing ; W. E. Calkins bad worked actively ; W. A. Gr. Arthur 
had given efficient aid. and by their exertions, when the time for the 
next meetiag came, $2000 had been taken. All this had been pledg- 
ed liberally without regard to the site, to fix which was now a vital 

question. 

Tefft's Hotel, Thursday Eve.. Feb. 18. 

On moiion of Wm. E. Calkins it was. Voted, That M. A. Sheldon, Esq., act as 
chairman 7)/'0^<>m. 

Wm. E. Calkins, from the committee on size, cost and location, having report- 
ed in favor of a spot just south of the summit of Mt. Hope overlooking lake 
Champlain, the Fort Grounds, Mt. Defiance, the Creek and the two villages, as 
site, 

* From this point, having bppn partially connected, thouph in an inferior degree, with efforts 
made for the Acaiiemy, and th.^refore liable to misjadge or possibly to be thought unfair iu stating 
their history, the writer, though aware that a more condensed and graphic account might be giv- 
en, is obliged, regarding accur:icy and justice above all, to let the Records of the meetings speak — 
on'y connecting them with a few necessary statements — as they can uovi-here be suspected of the 
least incorrectness or partiality. No more valuable and interesting account co\ild be given than 
these piipers contain, of a i)art of the history of Ticonderoga. In the course of the eflbi't for tho 
Academy liere its friends often wished that they had the records of how some similar institutioit 
elsewhere w.'is founded for their guide. As good schools are needed in many places, the writer 
hopes, without claiming anything at all extraordinary for these Records, that they may possibly 
at some time be of the same vise elsewhere, that similar ones would have been put to here, h.id 
T • possessed them. 



WHAT TICONDEROGa BOES. S7 

Voted, on motion of F. J. Cook, That in view of accommodating the lurgest 
number aucl of the sightliness of tlie location, that the Mt. Hope Site recommend- 
*;d by the committee be adopted by the stock holders for the location of the pro- 
posed school. Kemarks in favor by Messrs. Calkins, Cook, and Ely, none speak- 
ing against it. 

Voted, on motion of^Wm. E. Calkins, That the'stockholders do now formally 
organize and be known as the Ticonderoga Academy Association. 

Voted, on motion of Wm. E. Calkins, That the capital stock of this Associa- 
tion be hxed at twenty-five hundred (!gi2500) dollars. * * * * 

Voted, on motion of F. J. Cook, That a coramittee of three be appointed to 
draw up a series of Regulations for the Association io define the responsibilities 
of the society as a body and of its members as individuals and to set the whole 
upon a proper legal tooting. J.I. A. Sheldon, Wm. E. Calkins, and B. H. Baldwin 
were appointed as such committee. 

Voted, on motion of F. J. Cook, That the committee on the Cost, Plan, and 
Location of tlie building, be authorized, by the Ticonderoga Academy Associa- 
tion, to purchase suitable grounds for a scltool on Mt. Hope, of the Orwell Bank, 
at the lowest possible price, as soon as the same can be done under the appro- 
priate legal forms. 

Voted, on motion of F. J. Cook, That the Whitehall Academy plan recom- 
mended by the committee for tlie Building be adopted with such variations, as, 
without materially increasing the cost, may appear necessary in the course of 
construction and consultation with mechanics. * * * * 

Voted, on motion of Wm. E. Calkins, That this plan be submitted to difl'er- 
ent architects to report any improvements and the probable cost at the next 
meeting. 

Much feeling had been manifested in town as to the location of the 
house. That point was now settled, satisfactorily. A plan for the' 
Building had been decided upon, without knowing which, its cost could 
not be ascertained. Mr. C. P. Fobes of Crownpoint and Mr. E. 
Downs, mechanics, who were present, communicated valuable informa- 
tion. To the passage of these necessary motions, however, not a few 
legal objections were raised, such as that the stockholders were not in- 
corporated, could do nothing until responsible under the law, were a 
mere mass meeting, &c. The good sense of a majority of the stock- 
holders, nevertheless, did not fear to advance business despite . minor 
informalities. There was a hope that timber might be moved for the 
building before snow should be gone. The debate on the legal position 
of the stockholders, however, led to the vote for a formal organization 
and for application to the Kegents of the University for a charter. At 
the next meeting — one having been adjourned to give full notice of its 
objects— the question of most interest was the appointment of Trus- 
tees. The meeting was unusually full. 

Tefft's Hotel, Monday Eve., March 8. 

M. A. Sheldon, from the committee on Regulations, read a paper drawn in the 
form authorized by the Regents under the Laws of 1851 and Chap. 184 of the 
laws of 1853, for a conditional incorporation of an Academy, and also a paper 
legally binding the stocldiolders for the amount subscribed by each, both of 
which were signed by all the stockholders present. 

Moved by Wm. E. Calkins, That the Trustees of this Association consist of 
thirteen. 

Voted, on amendment by H. G. Burleigh, That the Trustees consist of nine. 

Moved by F. J. Cook, That B. P. Delano, R. Bly, A. J. Cook, W. II. Cook, and 
W. E. Calkins, the committee on the Site, be a committee to nominate Trustees, 
and to include themselves among the number. Amendment by J. A.. Piuchin, 
That the Trustees be nominated by the stockholders, (Lost.) Amendment by J. 
A. Pinchin that a committee of seven be elected by ballot to nominate Trustees-. 
(Lost.) The former question being then called for was adopted, the last clause 
having been withdravrn. 



88 Wl r TlCOXDEROGA Dots. 

The committee, after Vv..^ wing, reported the following named gentlemen' 
as such Trustees : — 

Benj. p. Dklano, Benj. H. Baldwin^ G. D. Clark, 

Wm. G. B iLDWiN, Rus^sEL, Bly, H. G. Burleigh, 

Wm. H. Cook. Wm. E. Calkins, Creorge Grant. 

Mgved by F. J. Cook, That the stockholders proceed to elect the nominees by 
calling the at/es and nays. Amendment by W. A. G. Arthar, That they be vot- 
ed on by ballot — carried. 

A debate ensued, when the question of ballot was again called for and lost. 
The former question of ayes and nays was called again and carried. 
The gentlemen aI)ove named were elected Trustees of the Ticonderoga Acade- 
my witli the exception of Geo. Grant, who declined, and his place was supplied 
by the election of George C. Weed. 

The Orwell Bank property could not be bought. Again and again 
the committee rode to Orwell and returned without gaining the location. 
It had completely united the town, and where another could be chosen 
as just, as convenient, as sightly, was hardly known, while divisions up- 
on any other sue were feared to an extent that would greatly retard, 
and might crush the enterprise. A site on the south side of the creek 
had all along been oifered as a gift to the Association by the Ellice 
Party, but it was doubtful whether men north of the ereek would ac- 
cept it. The Records continue : 

Tefft's Hotel, Thursday, P. M., April 1. 

Benj. P Delano, chairman of the Board of Trustees, presiding. 

Wm. E. Calkins from the committee on Site reported that strenuous efforts had 
been made to carry out the vote of the Association concerning the Mt. Hope lo- 
cation : That the Orwell Bank, though repeatedly importuned, had refused to 
sell a part of their land upon any consideration, or to trade at all unless they 
sold the whole : That Mr. Russel Bly had made the Bank an oft'er for the whole 
but that the negotiations had been unsuccessful and that it now seemed impossi- 
ble to ol)tain the desired site ; therefore 

Voted, on motion of F. J Cook, In view of the failure to obtadn a site on Mt. 
Hope ; in view of the prefei-ence of Districts containing a majority of the schol- 
ars of the town ; in view of the cost of any other pi-oposed location ; and in 
view of the fact that this land is a free gift to the Association from Mr. Ellice by 
iiis agent, that tlie stockholders do fix upon lot No. 6 and a part of lot No. 8 of 
block No. G, as represented on the donor's map, these lots containing about one 
acre and lying in the woods between the present premises of H. G. Burleigh and 
Wm. E. Calkins, for the location of the proposed Academy. 

Remarks were made in favor of tliis motion by Messrs. Calkins, Bly, Cook, 
Grant and C. H. Delano, and carried by an unanimous vote, the roll call show- 
ing 40 yeas. 

A financial necessity compelled this vote. Most of the stockholders 
north of the creek supposed they must allow the Academy to go to the 
south side, though the location was removed from the travel-centre of 
the town, or else not have the Academy at all. No site near the one 
on Mt. Hope that had so united the stockholders, could be obtained, 
for any sum within the means of the Association. Of necessity, there- 
fore, the south side was chosen. Immediately after the meeting, how- 
ever, that necessity was removed. One of the stockholders, G. D. 
Clark, offered to secure for the Association what was afterwards called 
the "Snow Site," a spot north of the creek, and, like the former loca- 
tion, on Mt. Hope, overlooking the lake, the village, and the localities 
of historical interest. This spot was much nearer the travel-centre, 
and, though intensely opposed by many on the south side of the creek 
as small, contracted and unsightly, was thought nevertheless, by a ma- 
jority of the stockholders, to be "more central, more just to scholars 
north and northwest of the village without inconveniencing other sec- 



WHAT TICONDEROGA DOES. 89 

tiong, and the one which would secure the hirgest atteudauce from each 
district." Therefore, at the next meeting, Apr. 17, it was 

^•Resolved, That tlic vote accepting tlie EUicc Gift Site be reconsidered. — 
This motion wr.s unanimously passed. 

Mr. G. D. Chirli, the question, 'Shall the Ellice Gift Site he accepted ?' being 
then before the meeting, moved an auiendmont to it : That the location on Mr. 
Wm. Snow's premises enclosing about eight rods front by fourteen deep on the 
cast of his lot, be tlie same more or less, as contracted, be purchased for the 
site of the proposed Academy. 

About one hour's discussion ensued in -which Messrs. Geo. Grant. Russell Bly, 
Wm. E. Calkins and 11. G. Burleigh favored the South Side ; and G. D. Clark, 
F. J. Cook and the Secretary, the Snow location on the north side of the creek. 
Several stockliolders went out and examined the Snow location. 

The roll being called on the question : Shall the Snow location be purchased ? 
Mr. Clark's amendment was carried by yeas 29, nays 25."' 

This was supposed to be a final vote. The application for a charter 
had been once returned, ou account of a "deficiency in the subscrip- 
tion, it being stated in the application as $1500, but the law requiring 
^2500, and that of this ten per cent should be paid in." A commit- 
tee of young men appointed at the last meeting having diligently can- 
vassed the town ; the land given by the Ellice party having been count- 
ed as $200, and certain gentlemen arranging for the remainder, the 
application was returned to the Regents April 3, before the close of 
their session, with all its deficiencies removed. At this meeting of 
April 17, an ofiicial letter was read from S. B. Woolworth, Secretary 
of the Hegents, stating "that at a meeting of the Regents of the Uni- 
versity on the Sth inst.," just two months from the time effort for the 
school began, "the application of the inhabitants of Ticonderoga for the 
charter of an Academy was presented and granted." Having commit- 
ted, therefore, the plan of the building, about which there had been 
much discussion,and all the other interests of the school to the Trustees, 
under the charter now granted, this fifth meeting of the stockholders 
adjourned without day, hoping soon to see the will of the majority car- 
ried out by the commencement of a building on the Snow Site, at the 
foot of Mt. Hope. 

Not so, however. Some of the stockholders south of the creek 
took the change of site very badly. The Snow location, preferred 
by the majority, was unfit, in their opinion, for any public building. It 
seemed evident at last that if the Academy were to be begun there, 
it would be necessary to elect several new trustees, and to collect some 
of the subscriptions by legal process. It was claimed that a majority 
were not in favor of the Snow Site, that the last meeting was informal 
and unfair, &c. After several stormy meetings the Trustees agreed, 
May 12, to call the stockholders together once more, and pledged 
themselves "to carry out the will of a majority of said meeting," "their 
decision to be final and binding on the Trustees." Any stockholder 
was allowed to vote by proxy by sending in his wishes in writing. 

Attracted by the hope of a final meeting in a series already too long^ 
each one having cost the town not only division but now loss of valu- 
able time, the meeting. May 20, was unusually full. In the discus- 
sion, the stockholders preferring the north of the creek pledged them- 
selves to make the vote unanimous should a majority, as was expected, 
be found for the south side. Union was heartily desired : all would 'i;o 
with the majority. 



90 ■VVilAT .riCONDEnOGA DOF..«. 

After discussion a vote was taken resulting in a majority of two for 
the Snow Site.* The stockholders prefering the south side of the creek 
Were entreated to make the vote unanimous, but in vain. Before the 
vote was formally announced many of them left, the meeting having 
become confused. Even the trustees, pledged to carry out the will of 
a majority, were not all agreed. One of them,t having changed his 
vote, moved a reconsideration. Four of the Trustees! voted not to 
lay this motion on the table, and carried a motion to adjourn to try a 
seventh decision. 

The adjourned meeting, however, amounted to nothing, the Records 
of the Association closing by recording it adjourned. May 29, for want 
of a quorum, sine die. An unhappy state of feeling, however, was 
caused by the closing action of the meeting, above recorded. Some of 
the most quiet and conscientious of the stockholders regarded the prac- 
tical refusal of four of the Trustees to carry out the will of the major- 
ity, twice expressed in favor of the Snow Site, as the breaking of their 
public pledge. The trustees in question earnestly denied this last 
charge, but did nothing toward proceeding with the building, though 
entreated by the rest to go forward immediately. The majority of tho 
stockholders felt agrieved and one or two threatened to revoke their 
public pledges on tho subscription paper. 

Affairs were jangled. The Academy had surely failed. One of 
the Trustees§ tendered his resignation. A former merchant of the 
town who had heard that there was to be an Academy in Ticondero- 
ga,. wrote back that "the timber had not yet sprouted which was to bo 
put into its frame ; that the grand-mother of the first child to attend it 
was not yet born.'' This was the key note of the croakers against the 
{success of the enterprise. Nothing could be done in Ticonderoga for 
Avant of union. A standing and sometimes jeering salutation to the 
foremost friends of the school, was : "Good morning, sir. Is the tim- 
ber sprouted } Is the grand-mother born .'" Hopeless, indifferent, and 
supremely lazy individuals, with nothing to do but find fault, every 
where reported the failure of the enterprise ; and some of its friends 
fell back, discouraged and sore, with the ridiculous complaint that they 
'had been abused' and their 'feelings hurt,' fitter speech for women 
than for men. Only a few kept their attention steadily upon the well- 
being of the town, and knowing how hopeless other efforts for improve- 
ment might b(«3ome were this to ftxil, verily resolved that the Acade- 
my should rise, be occupied, and prosper, if they had to raise the dead! 
It was evident, finally, that two-thirds of the friends of the school 
must agree upon its Site or nothing could be done. It was further evi- 

* This final vote on the SitP, as it shows the preferences of individuals and also the amount sub- 
scribed by each, is here recorded. For THii; north sidu of the Creek, (Sxow Site) . — W. H. Cook, 
4; Geo. D. Clark, 4; Ben.1. F. Delano, 4; Hiram Kimpton, 4; Tnomas Ropers, 4; 0. Phelps, 2; J. G. 
Hammond, 2; C. P. Sawyer, 2; V. J. Cook, 1; N. T. Ma.son, 1; Dan'l Thompson, 1: Apollos Skinner, 
1; 0. JI. Burl, 1; Chas. L. Lanier. 1; Jas. TeiTt, 1; Kdw. Dowm~, 1; D. 6. Gibbs, 1; Charlotte Coob, 
1; Carlton Miller, 1; Carlos Bu.ebne. 2. Total, 39. 

For. THE SOUTH SIDE, (EU-ICE GiiT Site). — Beu.). H. Baldwin , 1; W.A.Ci. Arthur,!; Geo.C.Woert, 
2-, H.G. Burleigh, 4: A. J. Cook. 4; W. G. Baldwin, 1; .\. 3. Pinchin. 1; Nekton Rogers, 3;!:. 
Woo^lard, \\ C. P. Ives, 1: A. L. Bcnnet, 1: I,. R. Saycrs, 1; L. B. Woolcot. 1; J. B. Ramsay, J; 
Ales. Marshall, 1; Wm. E. Calkins, 1; Geo. WriKhl, 1; Dan'l Scott, 1; John Porter, .ir., 1; Rubsell 
Blv. 4; H. Field, 1: T. .T. Trcadwav, 1; W. P. Ganon, 1; M. .\. Sheldon, 1; Geo. R. Thompson, I; 
II. V. lU-mmouri. ]. Total. ,17. 

Not TOTiNr,.— T. Belaiio, |; F. F. Friziev, 1; A. I,. Bennet, 1; J. Thompson 1; H, Jloic;;. 1; T. D. 
Harvey. 1. ' 

T B. H. Baldwin. 

% B. H. Bii'dwiii. W. G. Baldwin. B. T. Be'.ano. ami R. Biy. ^^ R. Bly. 

f 



WHAT TICONDEUOGA DOE'S. 91 

^cnfc that the Fair Ground, already mentioned, sovUli of the creek at 
the head of Main Street, was the only location that would unite the 
said two-thirds. Actual justice seeming impGssible,concession was resolv- 
ed upon. The minority would not yield to the Snow Site ; but the ma- 
jority, expressing; themselves "willing to bear and forbear for the pub- 
lic good," would yield, it was thought, rather than loose the school. — 
A paper to this efiect, drawn by a stockholder,* May 25, was adopted 
by the Board of Trustees, May 29, and two young menf appointed to 
circulate it. It was with difficulty that some of the stockholdcr.s pre- 
fering the north side were induced to take this position of Bioral tri- 
umph by the side of a minority twice out-numbered. But magnanimi- 
ty and the love of the school prevailed. Yet holding the north side 
to be the only just location, the majority adopted tlie south side as the 
only expedient one, more willing to forgive than to irritate. The two- 
thirds were obtained. Harmony was restored. The site upon the 
Fair grounds, beautifully shaded by a hundred oaks, at the head of Main 
Street, was fixed upon. The Trustees and the town were united. 

Fifty days delay to find a mechanic to take the erection of the house 
as a job ; considerable labor in drawing plans and in consultation with 
home and foreign mechanics, and the ]^uilding Committee, G-. T>. Clark, 
Q. C. Weed, and Wm. E. Calkins, closed a contract for a building 3G 
by 56 ft. in size, costing $2,300, and to be completed by the fifteenth 
of November, 1858. C. P. Fobes of Crownpoint and Benj. Cheney 
of Ticonderoga, were tlie contractors. The last sand-bars before the 
■erection of the building were its size, and the guaranty of payment. — 
A proposal to cut down the building one-third, after plans had all been 
made out and the bargain nearly concluded, caused by fears that some 
portions of the subscription list would prove deficient or unreliable, 
was rejected as unjust, unmanly, and unnecessary, the deficiency being 
credited to renewed effort in canvassing for its removal. The stock 
of the Association not being entirely sure in the view of the contract- 
ors, the Trustees agreed to become jointly responsible as individual se- 
curity for the cost of the building, and thus the contract was finally 
sealed, July 21. A day long-waited-for came August 21. Under the 
foundations ot the corner stone of the Academy, raised without ceremo- 
ny on that day, were of course buried all regrets, despairs, conten- 
tions ; and upon the same were founded hopes, and prayers, and reso- 
lutions, for the future well-being of the school. 

Though not large or costly, the worth of this Academy, already 
much to our citizens in the effort for its commencement, should be con- 
tinually augmenting to their children and to themselves, in its occupa- 
tion. For one, the writer is glad that the obstacles met with, in found- 
ing the Institution, have not been less in number or in power. They 
have taught the town perseverance, energy, hope, qualities in which Ti- 
conderoga is lamentably deficient. It has afl:brded an opportunity oi' 
usefulness to some friends of education and social virtue, which they 
will ever remember with gratitude ; and of liberality to many citizen.s 
whose subscriptions will be repaid tenfold by their effect on the well-be- 
ing of the town,. There is no nobler zeal than that for the mental cul- 
ture and moral illumination of mankind, and for those ends, ever stead- 
ily kept in view and cherished, may this Institution prosper, working 

« F. J. C. t '-• ". Delauo wiU K.J. C. ' 



92 AVHAT TICONDEROGA DOKS. 

year after year for God and good, and carrying forward the usefulness 
of its early friends, long after they are gone. 

Sect. XXXIII.— Seligion. 

In giving now a few facts in the history of the different denomina- 
tions of Christians in our town, we must of course pass over the details 
of particular men's activities, and give only such of the prominent dates, 
names, and causes of awakening or decline, as may be of interest at 
home or in the county, or of the character of just remembrance to those 
who have ceased from their labors. 

1. Of the Universalist doctrine the preachers in Ticonderoga have 
been in 1810 and onward Rev. Kerrog, from Shoreham, Vt.; then El- 
der "Wm. Farewell, from 'Neif England, a large, portly man, energetic, 
social, and a great singer even to his seventieth year ; then Caleb Rich 
of Vermont occasionally ; Hosea Ballou, the distinguished advocate of 
Universalism in New England ; and ot late years Kittredge Havens, 
from Shoreham, Vt., a man of much native eloquence and popular tal- 
ent. At no time have regular services been held by the adherents to 
this doctrine uninterruptedly for a year on each Sabbath ; and though a 
building which had been erected at Weedsville for another purpose was 
fitted over in 1841 at considerable expense into a small church, it is now 
unoccupied and going to decay ; and the members who supported servi- 
ces there are perhaps rather on the decrease than on the increase of 
members and activity. 

2. Of the Roman Catholic church, services were provided for by the 
erection of a small Chapel on Mt. Hope, by the liberality of Edward 
McCaughin a wealthy land owner in the Catholic communion, who also 
apportioned a suitable place near it for the Catholic burying grounds. 
lu this Chapel, services were numerously attended — often by families 
from adjoining towns of this state and Vermont — once in nine weeks. 
In 1849 the people assisted by funds from their priest erected a large 
church on the site over looking the village ffom the south-west where 
services are held every month. Michael Olivetti of Whitehall, has 
been the priest for the last ten years. 

3. Of the Episcopal form of worship and doctrine a church was or- 
ganized as early as 1800. Samuel Deall, Jr., Wm. Kirby, and nearly 
all the early and prominent citizens of the town, were among its mem- 
bers. vServices have usually been held at the Upper and Lower Village 
schoolhouses ; on the occasion of a visitation from the Bishop, in one of 
the churches; and latterly, at the Hall of James Tefft's Hotel. No 
nhureh has been erected solely for the use of the denomination, though 
lis members assisted largely in the erection of the White House on Mt. 
Hope in 1819, and sabsequently h^d services there conjointly with the 
Congregationalists, for several years. Rev. Burt, already mentioned 
as keeping one of the first and best select schools at the Upper Village, 
had the care of the church about 1825. After the Revival during the 
visit of Burchard in 1837, under the care of Rev. Dyer, then at White- 
hall, the church was re-orgauized. Among the pastors named to us are 
Ilev. Drvis, about 1833-40 preaching every Sabbath ; Rev. Cleveland, 
every Sabbath; Rev. Wadhams, (connected with the family giving 
name to Wadham's Mills in Westport,) in 1844, 'every Sabbath; Rev. 
Bpooner, in 1851, preaclung once in four weeks; Rev. Hecock, in 



^V^AT TICONDEUOCA ])OF.S. 93 

1S54-55, once in four weeks; Rov, Coit, and Ptev. F. C. Putnam, now 
of Keeseville, in 1S56, occasionally; Rev. Webb, in 1S5S, once in 
four weeks. In 1844 we are informed that the number of Episcopalians 
in Ticondero^a was ninety-Ove, and at present somewhat less, 

4. Of the CoiigregatinnalisCs, the church society was organized in 
1809. Their church, the first erected in town, was built, with some aid 
from the people generally, in 1819, on a site overlooking the whoh; 
town and near its travel centre, on Mt. Hope. It was a magnificent 
building for those days in a country town and used for some years as a 
union house. Under the pastorate of Rev. D. Gibbs in 184.3, througli 
the perseverance of Dea. J. Harris and other prominent members "of 
the church, the house was removed to what was considered a more favor- 
able location on a hill jyist west of the lower village centre, where it 
now stands. It is a fact worth notice that since its organization this 
society, despite frequent destitution of a pastor's service, has maintained 
regular meetings for religious worship on the Sabbath. From the 
church records the pastors are found to be as follows : In 1810 Abial 
Jones, one jear or more. From 1811 to 181G Rev. Chapin of Brid- 
port and Rev, Ball occasionally. From 1817-18, Asabel Stone of 
Bridport ; in 1820, Rev. Manly ; in 1821, Rev. Wilder and Rev. A. 
Stone occasionally: in 1824, Oria Brown; in 1826, E. D. Kinney, 
remembered as a revivalist, not by extra meetings but by visitation and 
prayer 34 were added to the church. In 1828, A. C. Tuttle from 
New England, a strong revivalist ; in 1831, J. B. Baldwin from Con- 
necticut, each two years. In 1836, Ovid Miner, an eloquent and faith- 
ful pastor, who had been printer and editor at Middlebury ; a powerful 
revivalist, of excellent memory and stirring mind. He had a revival 
in June ; had students under his teaching here ; was a thorough abo- 
litionist and vehement against slavery, for which some opposed him, and 
he finally went west to Oberlin. In 1839 Rev. Cady, a young man, 
under whose pastorate, Jedediah Biirchard the celebrated evangelist, 
came into town and stirred the whole people by a series of protracted 
meetings. Burchard came, Feb. 12, 1837, and continued bis labors in 
this and other churches for six weeks, holding meetings every day and 
every evening except on Monday, large numbers at each resolving to 
do their duty. "Pray in faith," said Burchard, "for it's awful bad 
weather." " Put down your names as christians with God's help, and 
if any sectarian comes to proselyte you, ask if the devil didn't send 
him." In his prayers he made mention of every convert, and could 
remember faces and names to call a hundred. The boldness, earnest- 
ness, and vigor with which he presented the truth made a deep im- 
pression upon the whole town, and the fruits of the revival were large 
and rejoicing. Very many, however, have fallen back, dishonoring not 
the truth or Burchard, but themselves. From 1840 Rev. Bailey was 
pa«tor two years ; from 1843, D. Gibb.«!, one year; in 1844, Stores 
Howe, one year; from 1845, H. 0. Schermerhorn, nearly three years, 
during whose pastorate the society was much improved and an interest- 
ing state of religious feeling manifested in the town. In 1848 Rev. 
Woodruff and Sylvester Hynes ; in 1849, J. B. Eastman; from 1S50 
Henry Herrick, a scholar and faithful pastor, two years. A destitution 
of three years then followed, during which meetings were held but no 
preaching. From the ftill of 1855 the c'hurch Las enjoyed the pastor- 



04 



UltAT T[CONDKUO(rA DOES. 



r.te ot Rev. D. H. Gould to the present time, under wlrose labors many 
cheering additions have been made to its nunnbcrs, activity, and influ- 
ence. EijC^hty members have at one time belonged to the Congregation- 
al Church, but now only about sixty, owing to emigration veestward. 

5. Of the Baptist Churchy organized iu 1820, the present Brick 
House of worship, overlooking the village from the elevation at the 
head of Main Street, was erected in 1S36, previous to which time there 
was hardly any regular preaching, though the names of Elders 
A.' Stearns, Ebenezer Mott, Lane, Isaac D. Hosford, Henry Cham- 
berlain, M. L. Fuller, J. II. Barker, Levi Seofield and Isaac Wescott 
appear on the church records as occasional supplies of the pulpit. Tho 
pastors have been from 1 834, Sidney A. Estee, three and one half years. 
From 1838 till 1841, James Delaney, once an Irish Catholic in the 
British army iu Burmah, a fruit of the labors of Judson, and a young 
man of strong, well disciplined mind. He was somewhat eccentric iu 
his manners and vehement in his phillipics against formalism and the 
Bomish errors. LTnder his pastorate, partly in connection with the la- 
bors of Burchard, already mentioned, an extensive revival took place 
bringing nearly fifty into the church by baptism. From 1841 to 1843 
Thomas Brandt of Troy was pastor, additions to the church of twenty 
four by baptism being made under his labors ; then several months des- 
titution and a sifting time under the well known Miller excitement, con- 
cerning the end of the world. From 1845 to 1846, J. P. Huntington, 
under whose pastorate the debt for the church, which bad been hanging 
heavily on the society, was paid up. From 1846 to 1848, A. A. Sawin, 
ordained here ; then a years destitution ; and from 1849 to 1853, Thom- 
as C. Morley, ordained here in 1850. After pome months of irregular 
supply. Rev. Stephen Wright became pastor of the church, in June 
1854, and has so continued, much to its enlargement and edification, 
fifty having been added by baptism under his labors, to the present time. 
Some twenty of these were the fruits of a cheering revival during the 
past winter, in which Elder Wm. Grant of Whitehall assisted. One 
hundred and thirty one, in 1839, is the largest number reported within 
the fellowship of the Baptist Church ; the present number of members 
is one hundred and ten. 

6. Of the Methodist Churchy the circuit through Ticonderoga was or- 
ganized in 1811. It embraces at present Ticonderoga and a pan of 
Hague, but at different periods it has embraced a part of Schroon, of 
Crown Point, of Bloriah, and of Westport. The following is«. list of 
the circuit preachers, the year commencing usually in May or June : 
181 1 
1812 
1813 
1814 
1815 
1816 
1817 
1818 
1819 
1820 
1821 
IS22 



John Haskins, 


1834-35 Henry R. Coleman, 


Timothy Miner, 


1836 


Alden S. Cooper, and 


John B. Stratton, 




William Hickhara, 


Jacob Beman, 


1837 


Alden S. Cooper, 


J. S. Adams, 


1838 


Albert Champlin, 


Moses Amadou, 


1839 


Albert and Alpheus Wade, 


Phineas Doaos, 


1840 


Gilbert S. Palmer and 


Eli Barnet, 




Edward Noble, 


Seymour Landon, 


1841 


Gilbert S. Palmer and 


James Covel, 




Ira Holmes, 


Seymour Landon, 


1842 


Adam Jones and W. 11. 


Ibri Cannon, 




Hall, 



]8'ii3 


Orriu Pier, 


1824 


Salmon Stebbins, 


1S25 


u u 


1826 


Asa Busbnell, 


1827 


Orris Pier, A. Busbnell 




and Cyrus Meeker, 


~T 828-29 Cyrus Meeker, 


1S30-31 Samuel Eio;bmey, 


1S32 


Amos Hazleton, 


1833 


Alansou Eicbards, 



WHAT 'ri('()Nbiii;oi;A UuKS. 95 

1823 I'eter II. Smith, 
1844 Ivodman H. llobicsoD, 
1845-46 Lorenzo D. Sherwood, 
1847-48 Sylvester W. Clemens, 
1849-50 Gideon II. Townsend, 
1851 Jedediah D. Burnham, 
1852-53 PtobertM. Taylor, 
1854-56 

1857-58 Louis N. Boudrye, 
1858 A. J. Ingalls. 
The Presiding Elders of the Methodist Church have been as follows: 
1811, Samuel Draper ; 1815, Henrj Stead; 1819, John B. Stratton ; 
3823, Buel (loodsell ; 1827, James Quinlan ; 1829, John Clark ; 1830, 
Tobias Spicer ; 1833, Cyrus Prindle ; 1836, John M. Weaver ; 1838, 
Benjamin Marvin ; 1842, Trumau Seymour ; 1844, John Clark ; 1846, 
Joseph Ayers ; 1848, Cyrus Meeker ; 185i, A. Witherspoon ; 1855-6, 
1). P. Hulburd ; 1857-S, J. B. Stratton. 

No house of worship has been erected by the Methodists, the meet- 
ings iu Ticonderoga being held in the school houses at Chilson Hill, the 
Back Street, the Upper Village, and in Trout Brook Valley, and in a 
Tlnion House at Hague, built by the inhabitants. Many earnest faith- 
ful and able men have labored upon this circuit, and the Methodi.st 
communion is among the largest of the denominations of Ticonderoga, 
uow numbering over 100. Interesting revivals have been experienced 
tinder the labors of several of the pastors. * 

All the circuit preachers have been from abroad except Louis N. 
Boudrye, a young man of a Catholic family in Ticonderoga, converted 
to Protestantism while at Kccseville Academy. A peculiar interest at- 
tached to his labors io the town of his youth, which has every reason to 
remember his zeal, sincerity, and usefulness with gratitude. 

Of all the religious denominations together it may be said that they 
have always been found friends of social reform, and have directly and 
indirectly preserved the honor, purified the public sentiment, elevated 
the aims, and sustained the progress of the town. Temperance, edu- 
cation, anti-slavery, private manners and public peace in Ticonderoga, 
owe much to all our churches. Such strong limitations of their influence 
for good, however, have existed among themselves, not of a spiritual, 
but of a financial and numerical kind that Ticonderoga hardly knows 
from experience what good a church may accomplish. Pastors, receiv- 
ing but from $300 to $500 a year and preaching to congregations not 
averaging over 100, have iu Ticonderoga n^ver been able to hold that 
commanding influence for good over the social life, the education, and 
the public sentimerft of the people, which, in other towns, has been 
their high privilege, their unavoidable duty, and their largest sphere of 
usefulness. A preacher of the truth has no opportunity to show his 
full power until all the people come to hear him ; nor a church to pro- 
duce its full harvest of good fruits until all the people give it financial, 
numerical, and spiritual support. A majority of the more wealthy and 
prominent citizens of Ticonderoga have never resolved to ca.«t their iu- 
ilucnee publicly in favor of Christianity, but have maintained a neutral 
position upon gravest questions of private and public virtue, much to 
the injury of the town, the misdirection of itf young men, and tlic pre]- 



00 \V11AT TICONDEUOCJA ENJ0V3. 

udice of their own interests. The neutrality of many mot-al men has 
f];iven power to a class positively wrong, whose influence has been at 
home one of our severest evils and abroad a well-known dishonor. — 
Exceedingly erroneous opinions, however, have often been formed con- 
cerning the moral atmosphere of Ticonderoga by judging of its present 
by its past and of the whole town by a few infected localities. A fair ma- 
jority are right in principle, and would be always victorious in practice, 
had they according to Divine Law, as much ability to do as to hca^, to 
execute as to adopt, to perform as to profess. Not a few facts might bo 
drawn from the history of the churches of Ticonderoga to add to the 
arguments of those who believe the sectarian organization of christiap- 
ity an enormous evil. Much denominationar scrambling needs to give 
way to a world-convincing fraternity of spirit ; much care for sectarian 
supremacy to a co-operative and aggressive manliness, tinder these 
difficulties, necessarily stated in a true record, the general prosperity ot 
the churches acquires a double significance ; their efforts a double worth ; 
and every child taught, every vice reformed, every family blessed, eve- 
ry hope of men anxious to do good, every struggle, every tear, every 
prayer, a double preciousness. 



CHAPTER III. 



WHAT TICONDEUOGA ENJOYS-Historical Associations, Scenes 
of Celebrated Events, Natural Scenery. 



In the previous chapter we have sketched the main branches of trade, 
industry, public improvement and social progress in Ticonderoga from 
its earliest settlement to the present time, matters of no little local in- 
terest and value. In the present the subject is enlarged to events in 
the history of our country, of influence not upon one town or county, 
but upon the nation at large, and therefore of general interest and im- 
portance. Every improvement in moral or material interests the town 
has achieved by labor ; but its rich historical associations and the gifts 
of nature, it has received by inheritance. The former, then, are among 
the things which Ticonderoga does, the latter among those it enjoys. 
Sect. XXXIV—- Wants of Visitors and Tourists. 

It is high time that some full and accurate account should be made 
out of the historical localities of Ticonderoga with brief notes of the 
events that have given them celebrity. Since 1820 a concourse of trav- 
elers, fashionable and curious, averaging now five thousand a season, 
have passed through the town from Lake Horicon every summer to visit 
the ruins ol' Fort Ticonderoga. A few have remained a week, some a 
day, some au hour, but a majority have been satisfied with a mere pass- 
ing glance. Any due appreciation of the extent or interest of the ruins 
has been impossible with the greater number from want of time, of guides, 
or of information. 

It so happens that the most interesting localities are unnoticed or 
rarely visited by travelers, The star fort and old barracks on t ic 



WHAT TlCONDEROGA ENJOVS. 97 

promontory, near the pavillion, so assiduously scoured for rellca, is, with 
the single exception of its capture by Ethan Allen, by no means the 
locality most rich in stirring associations. Ticonderoga as a military 
post, it will be remembered, had a peculiar history. It passed three 
times between hostile nations without a battle. It was taken every time 
without bloodshed, by Amherst, by Allen, by Burgoyne. Once an un- 
successful attempt was made for its capture, and this, under Abercrom- 
bie, with terrible loss. The outposts rather than the heart of the for- 
tress have borne the terrors and therefore deserve now the honors of war. 
If loss of life can give any spot historical interest ; if intense conflict, 
unparalleled bravery, and the stake of vast interests occurring upon any 
locality, can attract reverent remembrance, then the old French lines, 
stretching a thousand paces through the woods north of the Fort, are 
among the most interesting places of the vicinity. But travelers rarely 
go there. Nor to Mt. Hope, near the village, with its entrenehmenia 
where Burgoyne's right wing, panting and anxious^ gained their first 
confidence and foothold, against the fortress. Nor to the top of Mt. 
Defiance, where the sunrise of July 6, 1777, revealed to the garrison 
the British red coats with their battery and block house, a summit easily 
accessible and worth visiting for its splendid outlook upon natural scene- 
ry, if for nothing else. Nor to Mt. Independence, with its old picket 
fort, its breastworks, its circular battery, and its burial grounds. 

Even in the star Fort, few travelers seem to notice the spots of special 
interest. Many cannot find the oven, the 'best preserved under ground 
room of the fortress. And how many know where Ethan Allen landed, 
where the sentinel snapped the fusee at him, where ran the covered way, 
where were the stairs up which he strode to the door of Capt. La Place, 
what spot of the grey plaster was actually within the commandant's 
chamber ? How many know the dimensions of the parade ground, the 
counterscarp, the bastions, the underground rooms, and the locality of 
the magazine ? 

And how many guide-books give any account of that earliest battle 
of all, eleven years before the Mayflower landed, in 1609, between Cham- 
plain with his party of Hurons and Algonquins and the Iroquois?§ 

Indeed, from the questions often asked by many visitors, it would seem 
not uninstructive if some one should erect a guide board on the grounds 
and put upon it the inscription following : 

Upon this Promontory occurred, A. D. 

Champlain's battle with the Iroquois, - - - 1609 
Erection of Fort Carillon* by the French, - - - 1756 
Defeat of Abercrombie by Montcalm, - - - 1758 
Capture of the Fort by Amherst, . . - - 1759 

Capture by Ethan Allen, l775 

Evacuation before Burgoyne by St. Clair, - - - 1777 
It might be even then, necessary to remind a few of the distinction 
between the old French war and the Revolution, of the nationality of 
the generals named, and of the issues at stake. Especially concerning 

f.iSee Sect. VI. 

*The French name of Fort Ticonrleroga, meaning the same as the Indian Chc- 
I .' Toga. the original of Ticonderoga, signifying chime of bells, chime, pother, 
>.et, music — Spiers and Surreties Diet. The allusion is to the falls and the 
c properly means Sounding Waters.. 



98 AVUAT HlONDEROGA enjovs. 

the particulars of each action, the intimate succession of events, and their 
connection with the general history of the colonies and of the Revolu- 
tion, many have been too busy or too careless to be thorou£;hly informed. 
All these historical associations, however, must be fully understood be- 
fore the interest of the localities can acquire its full power. Of noble 
places as of noble men it is true that 

" He that knoweth well, loveth well." 
Actuated by that love and by the necessities of visitors above indicated, 
the writer invites attention to a sketch of the several events, largely 
made up from original sources, and also to a description of the present state 
of the ruins, with which he has been familiar for years, visited under 
every variety of circumstances, and carefully studied with all the aids 
that are at command. 

Sect. XXXV— Historical Summary. 

As history is but a series of logical connections, a brief sketch of the 
general course of military events in Champlain Valley, is necessary to^the 
description of those connected with Ticoudei'oga. 

It will be remembered that of this region two great nations of Europe 
claimed the exclusive sovreignty. France asserted a right to all the 
territory traversed by waters flowing into the St. Lawrence, Champlain, 
the Great Lakes, and the Mississippi. This vast area her rulers claimed 
by the right of discovery, and her people made it the subject of high 
hopes, of ambitious desire for power, and of jealous defence, under the 
title of " New France." England, on the other hand, asserted a right 
to the whole region, by virtue of her early discoveries and grants, ex- 
tending claims northward to the St. Lawrence and westward to the Pa- 
cific ; and especially from the recognition by France in the treaty of 
Utrecht of her paramount sovereignty over the possessions of the Iro- 
quois. These conflicting claims, despite the sanctions of treaties, con- 
tinually produced war. 

The llurons and Algonquins along the St. Lawrence, became the 
firm friends of France ; and, as one result, the Iroquois and Mohawks, 
in Vermont and New York, became her enemies. Fierce but indeci- 
sive forays were made along the pathway of Champlain year after year 
by the French upon the Indians and by the Indians upon the French- 
Iq 16S9 the savages took Montreal and threatened the very citadel of 
Quebec. Previously to this defeat the French had built the forts at 
Charably and at Sorel to protect Canada against incursions from the 
south. The English made the Iroquois their war-dogs ; the French 
used the llurons and Algonquins. Instigated by the passions of Euro- 
pean sovereigns and poured forth upon defenseless settlements, savage 
warfare, in itself unspeakably terrible, acquired new arts and augmen- 
ted ferocity. A treaty was made at last between the French and the 
Iroquois; but it operated little to the restraint of either party. 

The possession of Lake Champlain was coveted by both nations. 
Crownpoint peninsula, at a nairow point of the lake, was intensely de- 
sired by the French. Violating the obligations of a profound peace, a 
French aimament, in 1731, seized a promontory opposite Crown Point, 
and soon after, the peninsula itself, and erected there Fort iSt. Frederic. 
This was within the land.s of the Iroquois, which by the treaty of 
I- trecht were guaranteed to remuiu "iuviolate by any occupalion or 



WHAT TtCONDEROGA ENJOYS. 99 

encroachment of France." The government of New York was then 
in nerveless and inefficient hands, that made no effort to repel this en- 
croachment. Gov. Shirley of Massachusetts at last indignantly ap- 
pealed to the Governor of New York and aroused his attention to the 
alarming exposure of the Colonies from the fortress so far within the 
limits of his asserted jurisdiction. Accepting Shirley's offer of aid. 
New York and Massachusetts, joined in raising an army, which, under 
Generals Johnson and Lyman, proceeded against the French on Lake 
Champlain, erecting Fort Edward on the way. At the head of Lake 
Horicon they met Dieskall, June, 1775, and after one repulse, routed 
his army, took him prisoner, cut off the retreating, and threw their dead 
bodies into " Bloody Pond." Had Johnson followed up this victory he 
might have'captured Fort, Frederic, then dilapidated, and Fort Carillon 
on the bold promontory of Ticonderoga, but just begun. But he fell 
back and wasted the summer in building Ft. AVm. Henry, on the scene 
of his exploit. 

Meanwhile the colonies besought England to interfere, but she would 
not. Only a few rangers kept up the warfare. Important results, how- 
ever, followed this neglect. Left to their own resources in extremest 
peril the colonies learned valor. Around the walls of Ticonderoga, 
along the shores of Champlain and Horicon, were the school-grounds of 
the Revolution. In the French war Providence prepared the colonies 
to endure the war for liberty. Prcscott and Stark, Pomeroy and Put- 
nam, as rangers around Ticonderoga against the French,^ were formed 
to guide and conquer in the battles of Freedom. Events connected 
with the soil of Ticonderoga largely unfolded the elements and formed 
the agents of the war of the Revolution.^ 

Every stone laid at Ticonderoga was a weight of terror upon tho 
hearts of the colonists. Slowly ambitious France was encircling their 
feeble outposts, and connecting two of the largest rivers of North Amei'- 
ica with a cordon of fortresses, continually pouring the horrors of sav- 
age warfare upon their extended and unprotected settlements. Schenec- 
taday blazing at midnight, the valley of the Connecticut ravaged, the 
whole country north of the Mobawk depopulated by torch and toma- 
hawk and terror, were scenes, consummated by the enemy now at Crowu 
Point and Ticonderoga, which exasperated to the intensest pitch the 
care and solicitude of New England and excited all the enthusiasm of 
the colonists for vengeance. 

At last, having passed the matter silently for many years, England 
demanded with emphasis and decision the demolition of the fort at 
Crownpoint. What inefficiency or corruption had allowed to ba con- 
summated, diplomacy could not then retrieve. Fully aroused by the 
refusal of France to comply with their demand and with the finishing of 
the fort at Ticonderega in 1756, England, in the same year declared 
war. Two seasons, though the colonists presented the required con- 
tingents fully and promptly, were wasted by the inefficiency and delays 
of the British officials. 

Gathering boldness from these failures of the colonists Montcalm col- 
lected the Indians at Ticonderoga and passing through Lake Horicon 
with an army df nine thousand, ( 1757J boseigcd and captured Ft. Wm. 
Henry. Here occurred the terrible massacre of the 1500, which marks 
the culmiaating point of French power upon this continent. Uissatis- 



100 WHAT TICONDERCfGA ENJOYS. 

fied at the conduct of the war, the people of England, now thoroughly 
awake to the conquest of New France, at last found in William Pitt, 
the greatest statesman of English annals, a prime minister who compre- 
hended the wants of the colonies and by whose splendid combinations 
and stirring appeals the colonists were roused to execute the grand 
plan of attacking all the French fortresses at once. For this purpose 
the immense armament of Abercrombie and Howe was raised, and 
passed through Lake Horicon. It fought and failed. Amherst suc- 
ceeded in 1759 ; Carillon passed into English hands, and New France 
was doomed. Driven from Ticonderoga and Crownpoint the French 
bad no longer power to enforce their claims and finally were compelled 
to relinquish them entirely in the treaty of 1763. 

Such is a summary of the events and motives operating previous to 
the Revolution to form that halo of historical associations now envelop- 
ing Ticonderoga. 

Sect. XXXVI— Roger's Escape, 1758. 

As the traveler from the head of the Silver Water nears the southern 
end of his voyage, a bold mountain on the west of the lake called Rogers' 
Rock, deserves his attention. The whole elevation is 400 feet, half of 
which distance is a bare rock called the slide, inclined at an angle of 25 
degrees from meridian. 

The story of Rogers, the ranger, whose escape gave names to these 
localities, is well known but often misstated. Tradition and various 
relies would seem to fix the scene of the skirtnish, not at the outlet of 
the lake as intimated by some authorities, but in the centre of Trout 
!Brook Valley. With a small scouting party in the winter of 1758, 
tradition says, Rogers was returning from the vicinity of Crownpoint to 
Fort George. The French then occupied Fort Ticonderoga and had 
outposts along the outlet of the lake. Avoiding these he plunged across 
the Plateau into the forests of Trout Brook Valley, hoping to reach lake 
Horicon without provoking a skirmish. The spot is still pointed out on 
the premises of James Covel where the party first saw an Indian lying 
down in the act of drinking from the brook. Firing upon him, they 
soon found that they were in a large ambuscade of infuriated savages. 
A fierce battle ensued on the sloping ground between the brook and the 
east mountain. Any number of bullets and Indian arrows, with knives, 
tomahawks and gun trappings, since plowed up on these grounds, af- 
ford unmistakable proofs of the correctness of the tradition making this 
the scene of the battle. All of Rogers' men were killed, and he re- 
treated on snow shoes up the gorge just east of the present residence of 
"W. H. Cook, closely pursued by the Indians. Traversing the summits 
of the mountains separating Trout Brook Valley from Lake Horicon, 
he soon came to its abrupt southern terminus, having meanwhile devised 
a means of escape. 

With the savages not a half mile in the rear, he walked boldly down 
to the edge of the precipice and hurriedly unlashed his knapsack, and 
slid it down the face of the rock. Then unbinding the tight thongs 
of his snow shoes, he turns himself about upon them, taking care to 
scuffle the snow somewhat, and retreats, making reversed tracks, along 
the southern brow of the rock, descend? a gorge, comes around to the 
foot of the Slide, reshoulders his knapsack and is olF up the ice to Ft. 
George. This ruse of course left two trT'^"^ ^'-^^ '^•fforcnt directions 



wkAT TICONDEKOGA ENJOYS. 101 

meeting at the edge of the precipice. The savages on coming up 
supposed that two individuals had met there, and cast themselves down 
the rock, either in a scuffle if they were foes, or in fear if they were 
friends rather than ftill alive into savage hands. Many a deer, made 
to leap ofiF that height in the hunt, had been crushed to death, and 
what was, therefore, their astonishment to behold the active major hur- 
rying off yet alive with legs unbroken and without a limp after a fall of 
two hundred feet. He must be under the protection of the Great Spir- 
it, thought the savages on the mountain top. and with characteristic 
veneration they resolved not to pursue him. It is a little remarkable 
that the keen woodscraft of the savage that could mark a footprint 
among dry leaves did not notice that the two tracks were of snow shoes 
precisely alike and therefore suspect the ruse ; but it is probable that 
heat of battle and perhaps the kind north wind drifting the snow upon 
the tracks, favored the success of this inimitable expedient. 

The summit of Rogers' Rock abounds in attractions to the mineralo- 
gist ; and has furnished many brilliant specimens to cabinets in various 
parts of the world. The gorge down which Major Rogers retreated . 
contains a famous rattle snakes' den, almost the only remaining home of 
that dangerous reptile in the vicinity. Peaceful flocks of sheep now 
lie among the breezy pines on the summits along which Rogers was pur- 
sued, and sometimes a party after berries or on some fourth of July, 
slide great rocks down the precipice in memory of the route of the 
knap sack. The water opposite the Slide is of extraordinary depths 
fishermen, who find superior sport in this vicinity, having sounded it 
with their longest lines without finding bottom. 

Sect. XXXVII.— Abercrombie's Defeat, 1758. 

The splendid historic scene of the passage of Abercrorabie through 
Lake Horicon on the morning of July 6, 1758, with his flotilla of nine 
hundred batteaux, rafts manned with artillery, and one hundred and 
thirty four boats, bearing nine thousand provincial troops and seven thou- 
sand British veterans, against Ticonderoga, at once the scourge, the 
terror and the coveted prize of England and her colonies, is familiar to 
all. 

As this magnificent armament landed in the little cove on the west 
side of the Jake, yet retaining the name of Howe's Landing, they saw 
something to arouse their valor in Prisoner's Island opposite them where 
English prisoners had been confined in chains and under guard, after 
the first company left there had unluckily waded off to liberty. Yet 
more they had to excite the enthusiasm of revenge in the memory of 
the massacre at the bloody pass only twelve short months before, of 
Montcalm at Ft. Wm. Henry, that gay French marquis, whose forces 
they were now to meet at Carillun. 

Before noon Stark and Rogers were pressing forward through the 
dense forest toward the French lines, four miles distant. Montcalm 
had 4000 men, and daily expected a reinforcement of 3000 under M. 
De Levi. Abercrombie knew this, and hence, without waiting ior his 
artillery, made preparations for an immediate attack. 

Cautiously Putnam with one hundred rangers was sent in advance, 
while behind came the fifteen thousand, drawn up in four columns, the 
front one led by the eager Howe. " Keep back," said Putnam as they 
neared the place of exjiected conflict, "keep bade, my lord, you are the 



■JOS WHAT TICOXDEROGA KXJOYS. 

idol and soul of the array, and my life is worth but little." " Putnam," 
was the young man's only answer, '' your life is ac dear to you as mine is 
to me. I am determined to go," A single battallion of French and In- 
dians, stationed as an outpost, arc met and retreat, leaving their camp 
of log huts in a blaze. Immediately Howe with his advance column 
take up the pursuit, eager to enlarge this prestige of victory. 

It was a hot July day of buzzing flies and sweltering leaves, the tim- 
ber and under brush stood thick, and despite their superior discipline 
and dress Howe and his battallion, were somewhat confused. With re- 
markable independence of fashion the young nobleman had accommo- 
dated himself and regiment to the nature of the service by cutting off 
bis hair and fashioning his clothes for activity. After crossing a bridge 
over Trout Brook where amid thick cedars and pines of enormous 
growth it emptied into the brawling outlet of Horicon,* they fell in 
with a party of French and Indians, confused in the dense forest, while 
retreating without guide to the lines. A sharp report of muskets 
mingling with the roar of the water, a rattle of balls among the trees 
and leaves, began the skirmish. At the first fire Howe fell with an- 
other officer and several privates. Leaping behind the trees and crouch- 
ing in the under brush, Stark, Putnam and Rogers, with their rangers, 
accustomed to the Indian style of warfare, fought on. The rear col- 
umns coming up spread out along the bank of the creek, and soon the 
French battallion heard the scattering roar of small arms breaking out 
all around them. In brief time, falling one by one, three hundred of 
their number were dead, and the remaining one hundred and forty eight, 
surrendered. 

Thrown out of rank by the skirmish and the forest, confused for 
want of guides, fatigued by the hot sun pouring in through the branch- 
es ; and most of all discouraged by the death of their leader, the army 
marched back to the place of landing to bivouac until the next day. 

All that night they wept for Howe, and told his virtues. " With 
him," says Mante, "the soul of the army seemed to expire." A rip- 
ple of crystal waves upon the white sandy beach ; a gush of melody 
from the nightingale in the pines; stars setting behind the bold western 
mountain mirrored in the Silver Water, but the soldiers on their bear-skin 
couches or watchins: by the sentinels' posts, admired none of them. — 
Howi was dead. Till day appeared they thought of that, and of the re- 
venge to come. 

Early nest morning Col. Bradstreet advanced and took possession of 
the French Saw Mills at the lower falls, which the enemy had abandoned. 
Then an engineer was sent out slyly toward the fort, and the army wait- 
ed at Lake Horicon. Peacefully rippled the Silver Water : bright rose 
the sun. The engineer returned after a rash and hasty survey, and re- 
ported that the French lines were unfinished and easily pregnable. — 
Sure of victory the host again marched toward the death place of Howe, 
and passed it toward the fatal lines. 

Meanwhile from side to side of the promontory of Ticonderoga, 
French axes, spades, and ammunition wheels had been engaged. A 
breast-work nine feet high, twenty teet thick at the base and ten at the 

*After comparing sevei-al accounts and traditions of the death of Howe |this 
seems to be the spot where the fatal skirmish took place. It is central between' 
tlic two [villages. 



WHAT TIC0>'JJL;U0GA KN'JOVS. ]0o 

top, full of angles, and surmounted by heavy artillery, stood in perfect 
repair a thousand paces crossing from the bold northern bank of the 
creek toward Champlain. In front of this ran a deep and wide trench, 
and beyond, for a hundred yards, the ground was'covored with felled trees 
with sharpened branches pointing outward. Behind all stood Montcalm 
with his lour thousand, their heads only visible, with muskets levelled 
against the assailants. 

Unsuspicious of the strength of the enemy ^s entrenchments, the Brit- 
ish and provincial army moved boldly forward. Loud rang the arches 
of the forest along the present site of the village to sound of fife and 
drum, and louder as they turned the bend of the creek. The sparrow 
sang loud upon the bank; the robin and the blue-bird carolled over head. 
Peacefully lay the flat leaves of the water lillies on the stream, and how 
many in that host saw the pale flowers, opening in the shade, for the 
last time. 

Presently, ascending the gentle western slope of the promontory, they 
near the lines Every moment they expect a shot. One by one the 
regiments wheel into battle array with all the calmness and precision of 
a military parade. The signal for assault is heard among the French. 
Suddenly forth from the fatal lines springs a sheet of flame and a thou- 
sand pounds of metal are on their way. A shower of cannon balls crash 
through the forest beyond the abattis. The old leaves are plowed up; 
young saplings are bent and cut; soldiers reel, ranks open, death 
notches out one here and there, and the ranks close again. On the 
summit of the embankment, partially hid in a cloud of smoke, English 
bullets rain. Out of that cloud return tongues of fire and leaden hail. 
Each drop on cither side hums its minstrelsy of blood, a stinging pierc- 
ing song heard above the thunders of the war-cloud. The abattis is 
reached, and impedes the approach to the entrenchments. Screaming 
with rage, beneath a galling fire, the Scotch Highlanders leap among 
the branches and rave and hack and hew with their broad swords. — 
A few officers and men pass the ditch, scale the embankment, and 
leaping among the French, are instantly bayoneted. Slowly the morn- 
ing July sun rises in the heavens, but the grey cloud of musket and 
cannon smoke broods among the oaks and pines and shuts out the 
light from the combatants. Four hours they breast the storm. The 
green bark of the freshly fallen trees of the abattis grows red with 
gore. The water in the ditch shrouds groaning men. Scores are 
mowed down at every discharge of the French artillery. The dying 
and wounded, carried far to the rear, lie bleeding under the shadows 
of the forest. Blood oozes from two thousand dying and mangled 
forms, till it runs a rill. Why is the outlet of the Silver Water bloody.' 
Why do the lillies along the bank turn purple, the sensitive yellow 
leaves of the corolla seem blotched and stained ? It is blood from 
the battle field.* Secure in the rear Abercrombie standi and orders 
batallion after battallion against the French entrenchments only to see 
them borne back, dead and wounded. 

At last the bugles sound. Refrain. How the dying men groan as 
they are taken up to be borne hastily back to their morning camp. — 

* T'lc authenticity of this fact is established by the testimony of Ihose who re- 
ceived it from the surnvors of this defeat, as well as by history and numerous 
traditions. 



IU4 UHAT TICONDEUOCIA ENJOYS, 

IMany of the dead are left behind unburied, many die on the Way. 
Stained and sore, and panic-struck — the sun of noon shines upon the 
retreating columns. Nature is as clear as ever. Tramp, tramp, tramp 
go the heavy regiments, loaded with defeat and dying comrades, along 
the banks of the Sounding Waters. Trout Brook Valley and the Pla- 
teau rolled full of foliage of beech and maple, breathing pine and song 
of birds, all undisturbed by the terror of that day. The deer drank at 
the laughing rivulets, or, standing on the mountain crags, snufiFed the 
sulphureous taint of battle in the pure air of the valley, shimmering in 
the still summer noon. 

Though no pursuit was attempted a sudden panic seized the defeated 
troops. They rush to their landing, and embark hastily vpith the few 
prisoners and the many wounded. Groans now for bugle notes. Dis- 
appointment and disaster now in place of anticipations of victory. A 
recoil of surprise and sorrow now for the English colonies, people an<3 
government, instead of a burst of joy. Marbles in Westminster Ab- 
Isey now and crape and mourning instead of glory from the fatal Ticon- 
deroga lines. Not as they came, indeed, did that proud armament 
return. 

Such was the Battle of Ticonderoga, July 8, 175S. 

Sect. XXXVIII.— Capture by Amheist, 1759. 

Pitt was disappointed and the English people profoundly chagrin 
at the inglorious retreat of Abercrombie. Lord Amherst, the next ye 
was sent out to succeed him. Having collected 11,000 men at Fo. 
Edward and the vicinity, Amherst moved cautiously along Lake George, 
crossed the outlet of Lake Horicon, and appeared, without opposition, 
before Ticonderoga, July 26^ 1759. Montcalm, alarmed at the impend- 
ing descent of Wolfe upon Quebec, had hastened with the greater part of 
his forces to its defence, leaving Ticonderoga in the command of Boula- 
marque. Confident of victory from past achievements and present 
strength, the garrison seemed determined to hold out to the last. They 
soon found, however, that Amherst was not Abercrombie. His plan 
was not to assault the lines, but to take the fort by a prolonged siege. 
On the fourth day of the investment Boulamarque abandoned and dis- 
mantled Ticonderoga, and having secured his munitions, retreated to 
Crown Point, leaving Carillon on fire. 

Thus the grey promontory, for which so much bipod and treasure had 
been spent, was at last taken with hardly the loss of a single man. — 
England and the colonies mourned the death of Townsend, the counter- 
part of Howe, young, valorous and noble ; but they exulted in the com- 
mand of Lake Champlain. Every blow of the French in dismantling 
the fortress, and every stroke of Amherst, who immediately enlarged and 
improved the works on a scale of imposing magnificence, was a solemn 
knell for the approaching doom of New France. Crown Point, also 
evacuated and dismantled, was soon occupied by Amherst, and a new 
fort erected there, at the enormous expense of ten millions of dollars. 
In the interval of a delay of three months, made necessary by the prc- 
fcribed formula of military progress, but which should have been occu- 
pied in perfecting his dominion of the lake, Amherst caused a small 
flotilla to be constructed at Ticonderoga. With this naval armament he 

* Bancroft. 



WHAT TICONDEROGA ENJOYS. 103^ 

designed to proceed to Canada, but, forced back by an autumnal tem- 
pest, the main force remained at Crown Point and Ticonderoga, while 
the boats pursued and atcackcd the French fleet near Plattsburgh. Thia 
first naval conflict upon the waters of Lake Champlain, was with the 
gun boats buiJtat Ticonderoga. 

Sect. XXXIX— Capture by Ethan Allen, 1775. 
From 1759 to 1775, during which time Ticonderoga remaioed near- 
ly unused in the hands of the British, time was slowly forcing it out of war- 
like repair. In 1773, Gren. Haldibrand, commander at Crown Point 
and Ticonderoca, announced to the government that the fort at Crown 
Point was "entirely destroyed," and that at Ticonderoga in a " ruin- 
ous condition," and that both could '' not cover fifty men in winter." — 
But no lapse of time could change the natural features of the country 
which gave importance to these fortresses as military posts. Eemem- 
boring their position and aroused by the opening of hostilities at Lex- 
ington, it was natural that many patriotic individuals and associations 
throughout the colonies should conceive almost at the same time the 
project of capturing these fortresses in their dilapidated and exposed 
condition. To Ethan Allen belongs the honor of executing this bold 
design. The immortal story of hiiexpedition has been often told, but 
never so accurately or so well, peruaps, as in his own words, first pub- 
lished in his ''Narrative," in 1779: 

" Ever since I .arrived at the state of manhood, and acquainted myself with 
the general history of mankind, I have felt a sincere passion for liberty. The 
history of nations, doomed to perpetual slavery, in consequence of yielding up to 
tyrants their natural-born liberties, 1 read with a sort of philosophical horrorj 
ho that the first systematical and bloody attempt, .at Lexington, to enslave Amer- 
ica, thoroughly electrified my mind, and fully determined me to take part with my 
country. And while I was waiting for an opportunity to signalize myself in its 
behalf, directions were privately sent to me from the then colony, (now state) of 
Connecticut, to raise the Green Mountain Boys, and, if possible, with them to 
surprise and take the fortress of Ticonderoga. 

" This enterprise I cheerfully undertook; and. after first guarding all the sev- 
eral passes that led thither, to cut oft" all intelligence between the garrison and 
the country, made a forced march from Bennington, and arrived at the lake op- 
posite to Ticonderoga, on the evening of the ninth day of May, 1775, with two 
hundred and thirty valliant Green Mountain Boys ; and it was with the utmost 
difficulty that I procured boats to cross the lake. However, I landed eighty three 
men near the garrison, and sent the boats back for the rear guard, commanded 
by Col. Seth Warner, but the day began to dawn, and I found myself under ne- 
cessity to attack the fort, before the rear could cross the lake; and, as it was 
viewed hazardous, I harrangued the officers and soldiers in the manner follow- 
ing : 

'• Friends and fellow soldiers, you have, tor a number or years past been a 
scourge and terror to arbitrary power. Your valor has been famed abroad, and 
acknowledged, as .appears by the advice and orders to me, from the General As- 
sembly of Connecticut, to surprise and take the garrison now before us. I now 
propose to advance before you, and in person conduct you through the wicket 
gate; for we nmst this morning either quit our pretensions to valor, or possess 
ourselves of this fortress in a few minutes; and, inasmuch as it is a desperate at- 
tempt, which none but the bravest of men dare undertake, I do not urge it on any 
contrary to his will. You that will undertake voluntaril}% poise your tire-locks.' 

•' The men being at this time drawn up in three ranks, each poised his fire- 
lock. I ordered them to face to the right, and at the head of the centre file, 
marched them immediately to the wicket gate aforesaid, where I found a sentry 
posted, who instantly snapped his fusee at me; I ran immediately toward him. 
and he retreated through I luscovsred way into the parade within the garrison. gave 
a halloo, and nm under a bomb-proof. Aly party, who followed me into the fort, 



106 WHAT XICONDEROGA ENJOVS- 

I formed on the pavaJc in such a maimer as to face the two Itarracks which faced 
each olher. 

'* The garrison beiui;- asleep, except the sentries, we g;ive tl)rce huzzas which 
greatly surprised them. One of the sentries made a a pass at one of my officei'S 
Mith a charged oaj'onet. and slightly wounding him. I^Iy iirst thought was to 
kill him with my sword; but in an instant, I altered the design and fury of the 
blow to a sliglit cut on tlie side of the head; npon which he dropped his gun and 
asked quarter, whicli I readily granted him, and demanded of him the place 
■where the commanding officer kept; he sliowed me a pair of stairs in the front 
of a barrack, on the west part of the garrison, which led up a second story iu 
said barrack, to which I innaediatoly repaired, and ordered the Commander, Ca])t. 
De La Place, to come fortli instantly, or I would sacrifice the whole giirrison; at 
■which the Capt. came immediately to the door with his lu-eeches iu his hand-; 
■wlien I ordered him to deliver me tlie fort instantly; he askad me by what au- 
thority I demanded it; I answered him •' In the name of the Great Jehovah and 
the Continental Congress.''''* The authority of the Congress being very little 
known at that time he liegan to speak again; but I interrupted him, and with 
my drawn sword over liis head, again demanded an immediate surrender of the 
garrison; with which he then complied, and ordered his men to be forthwith par- 
aded witiiout arms, as he had given up the garrison. In the meantime some of 
my officers had given orders, and in consequence thereof sundry of the barrack 
doors were beat down, and about one-third of the garrison impiisoned, whicli 
consisted of the said Commander, a Lieut. Feltham, a conductor of artillery, a 
gunner, two sergeants, and forty-four rank and file, about one hundred pieces of 
cannon, one thirteeii inch mortar, and a number of swivels. This surprise was 
carried into execution in the grey of the morning of the tenth of I\Iay, 177."). 
The sun seemed to rise on that morning -^vith a superior lustre; and Ticondero- 
ga and its dependencies smiled to its conquerors, who tossed about the flowing 
bowl and wished success to Congress, and the liberty and freedom of America. 
Happy it was for me. at that time, that those future pages of the book of fate, 
which afterwards unfolded a miserable scene of two years and eight months im- 
pri.soumeut, were hid from my view." 

The extract would not be complete without Allen's account of the 
expeditious from Ticonderoga agaiciht Crown Point and the sloop of war 
at St. Johns : 

'•r>ut to return to my narrative ; Col. Warner, with the rear guard, crossed 
the lake, and joined me early in the morning, whom I sent off, without loss of 
time, with about one hundred men, to take 2>ossession of Crown Point, which 
was garrisoned with a sergeant and twelve men; which he took jwssession of the 
same day, as also of upwards of one hundred pieces of cannon. But one thing 
now remained to be done, to make ourselves complete masters of Lake Cham- 
plain; this was to possess ourselves of a sloop of war, which was then lying at 
St. Johns, to eifect which, it w."s agreed in a council of war, to arm and man 
out a certain schooner, wliich lay at South Bay, and that Capt. (now general) 
Arnold should command her, and that I should command the batteaux The 
necessary preparations being made, we set sail from Ticondei'oga, in quest of the 
eloop, wh wasich much larger, and carried more guns and heavier metal than the 
fchooner. General Arnold with tlie schooner, sailing faster than tlie liatteaux, 
arri\'ed at St. Johns, and by surprise, possessed himself of the sloop, before I 
could arrive with the batteaux. He also made prisoners'of a sergeant and twelve 
men, who were garrisoned at th.at place. It is worthy of remark that as soon as 
General Arnold had sis-cured their prisoners on board, and had made preparation 
for s.iiling, the wind, wliich was but a few hoiu's was fresh in the south, and v.ell 
served to carry us to St. Johns, nov/ .«hifted, and came fresh from the north; and 
in about an hour's time. General Arnold sailed with the prize and scliooner for 
Ticonderoga. When I met him with my party, williin a few miles of St. John^, 
he saluted me with a di.«chavge of cannon, which I returned with a volley of small 
arm?. This being repeated three times, 1 went on lioard the sloop w ith my par- 
ty, w!iere several loy;il Congress health,^ were drank." 

Also Allen's estimate of the uiilitary aud political importance of Ti- 
conderoga. 

*W'ith an oath to wind up with, which Alh^n does not record. See Losoing's 
I'icld Boukof Jlcvolution, 1, IJi. 



WHAT TU.-ONDEROOA ENJOi>:. 107 

'' Wh were now masters of L;iko Cli;imj>l;iiii, and flit> jj-arriyon tlqipiidiiiff there- 
<iii. This success 1 viewed uf eouseqiieuee in the scale of American jwlitics; fur, 
if a settlement between the tlien colonies of Great Britain, had soon taken 
place, it would have been easy to havq restored these acqniaitions; but viewing; 
the then future consequences of a cruel war, as it has really proved to be. and 
the command of that lake, garrisons, artillery, &c., it must be viewed to be of 
signal importance to the American cause, and it is marvelous to me that We ever 
lost c(jmmand of it. Nothing but taking a Burgoyne with bis whole British 
array, could, in my opinion, atone for it; and notwithstanding such an extraor- 
dinary victory, we must be obliged to regain the command of that lake again, 
be the cost what it will; by doing this Canda will easily be b7-oiight into union 
and confederacy with the United States of America. Such an event would 
put it out of the jtower of the western tribes of Indians to carry on a war with 
us. and be a solid and durable bar against any further inhuman barbarities com- 
mitted on our frontier inhabitants, by cruel and blood-thirsty savages; for it is 
impossible for them to carry on a war, except they are supported by the trade 
and commerce of some civilized nation; which to them would be impracticable, 
did Canada compose a part of the American empire." 

So important to the colonies was this first victory and so romantic 
the circumstances under which the surprise was executed, that the mem- 
ory of Ethan Allen will be co-existent with History. It may be doubted, 
however, whether the bravery of his exploit has not been over-stated. 
The forces were eighty-four men wide awake with reinforcements at 
their back, against forty nine asleep. Besides, the fort was in a dilapi- 
idated condition; its sentinels were inefficient; duty and discipline were 
exceedingly lax. Phelps, one of the committee who gave Allen his of- 
ficial power, and who had visited the fort as a barber'the day before its 
capture, reported these facts to Allen. It was a reckless, well-executed 
providential surprise; and though full of bravery, was by no means so 
conspicuous a display of that military virtue, as the Green Mountain 
Uoys and Allen had often before made. Was it anything remarkable 
that at Crown Point one hundred men fresh from victory should sur- 
prise and take a sergeant and ten lazy red coats in a garrison that had 
been reported two years before " entirely destroyed?" Arnold, it will 
be remembered J whose reputation for courage and reckless daring has 
never been impeached, however infamous his other qualities, marched 
by the side of Allen from the poising of the fire-locks on the shore to 
the triumphant entrance into the parade. Of course. La Place, with 
one third of his forty eight men taken prisoners, the enemy in the heart 
of his fortress, Allen's sword over his head allowing him neither time to 
argue nor power to resist, could do nothing but surrender. The true 
merit of the exploit consists in the wary approach to the fortress, the 
bold and stidden onset, and the imperative demand at the commandant's 
door, which made the whole attack such a complete sur'pnse, and which 
Ethan Allen, of all men, was best fitted to execute. Yet, after all, 
providential aid was the turning point, for had the sentinel's gun not 
missed fire, or had the boats been procured twenty minutes later for 
the crossing, it would be difficult to say what would have been the fate 
of the enterprise. 

These forty nine soldiers were the first prisoners of the Revolution, 
and the grey blufl:' of Ticonderoga has the distinguished attraction of 
being the first place where regulars bowed to rebels, the first where 
trained continentals of Britain surrendered to the yeomanry of America. 

Fearful and loyal, Congress directed the cannon stores to be removed 
to the south end of Lake Horicon and a strong fortification to be erec- 



108 WHAT TICONDEROG^\ ENJOYS. 

ted there. They also required an exact inventory of the cannon and 
military stores to be made, "in order," said their resolution, "that 
they may be safely returned, when the restoration of harmony betwei;n 
Great Britain and the Colonies, so ardently desired by the latter, shall 
render it prudent and consistent with the over-ruling law of self-preser- 
vation,"* These spoils were as follows : 120 iron cannon, 50 swivels, 
2 ten inch mortars, 1 howitzer, 1 cohorn, 10 tons musket ball?, 3 cart 
loads of flints, 30 new carriages, a considerable quantity of shells, a 
ware house full of materials for boatbuilding, ISO stands of small arras, 
10-casks of poor powder, 2 brass cannon, 30 barrels of flour, 18 bar- 
rels of pork, with beans, peas, and other provisions. § Ultimately 
these stores became of much service to the army of patriots around 
Boston. 

Sect- XL.— Thacher's Journal at Ticonderoga, 1775. 
The following extracts from the " Military Journal during the Amer- 
ican Revolutionary war from 1775 to 1783, by James Thacher, M. D-, 
late surgeon in the American army," are introduced because a writer 
has no business to speak himself when he can better quote the testimony 
of an eye witness. They are exceedingly curious and interesting, re- 
lating to a period in the history of Ticonderoga almost never noticed by 
travelers or in histories, the work being somewhat rare. " Participa- 
ting in the glorious spirit of the limes and contemplating improvement 
jn professional pursuits," Thacher entered the army when but twenty 
one years ot age, and his journal during the seven years of the war, 
written ut the time and often on the spot of the great events, is one of 
the most interesting records of the Revolution : 

JIARCH TO nCOXDEROGA. 

" August 5, 177,6. — Colonel Whitcomb's regiment, consisting of five hundred 
pien, has now gone through the small pox in this town (Boston) by inocuhition, 
and all, except one negro, have recovered. 

'' 7th. — This regiment, with Colonel Sargeant's, are preparing to march to 
FortjTiconderoga. A number of teams are procured to transport the baggage 
and stores, and this morning, at seven o'elock, they marched out of town with 
colors displayed and drums beating. Being myself indisposed, I am permitted 
to tarry in town till my health is restored, and in the meantime I am directed to 
take charge of the sick soldiers that remain here. 

",20th. — Having recovered my health and being prepared to follow our regi- 
ment, I am this day to bid adieu to the town of Boston where I have resided very 
pleasantly for the last five months. I am destined to a distant part of our coun- 
try, and know not what sutfering and hazards 1 shall be called to encounter, 
while in the discharge of uiy military duty. I shall commence my journey in 
company with Lieutenant Whiting and fourteen men who were left here as 
invalids. 

September. — We took our route through Worcester, Springfield, Charlestown, 
in New Hampshire, and over the Green Mountains to Skeensboro ; which is the 
place of rendezvous for the continental troops and militia destined to Ticondero- 
ga. Here boats are provided at the entrance of Lake Champlain, which are 
continually passing to and from this place. We embarked on the 6th instant, 
and with good oarsman and sails we arrived tlie same day, and joined our regi- 
menthere, a distance of thirty miles.* 

*Steamboat time now is two hours. 

A RATTLE SXAKE BY THE TAIL. 

" Soon after my arrival here, a .soldier had the imprudence to seize a rattle- 
snake by the tail ; the reptile threw its head back and struck its fangs into 
the man's hand. In a few moments swelling commenced, attended with severe 

* Pitkin, I. 355. ^Lossing's Field Book, I. 125. 



WHAT ■ncoNDF.nooA j:n.i(iv3. 109 

pi\in. H w.'is not niriri' than Imlf an luMir. wlun his uliul;' nriii to his slioulilcr 
\v;is swolU'U to twice its Uiitural size, ami tlie skin hceiuiic vi' n deep oi'anue coldr. 
His body on one side, soon ln'ctnne -atlected in a similar manner, and a uansea at 
Jiis stomach ensued. The poor man was greatly and justly alarmed; his situation 
w as very critical. Two medical men, besides myself, were in close attendance 
lor several hours. Having procure<l a quantity of olive oil. we directed the pa- 
tient to swallow it in large and repeated doses, till he had taken one quart ; and 
nt the sa:ne time we rubbed into the affected limb a very large ((inintity of mer- 
curial ointment. In about two hours we had tlie satisfaction to perceiv(> the fa- 
vorable etlisct of the remedies. The alarming sympt<nus abated , the swelling 
and pain gradually subsided, and in about forty-eight hours he was happily re- 
stored to health. 

DEscnirnoN of defences. 

"10th. — * * * Ticondcroga is situated on an angle of land forming <h<5 
western shore of Lake Champlain. ov rather what is called South Bay;* being the 
inlet into the lake. It isal)out 12 miles south of the old fortress at Crownpoiul, 
and about 110 miles north of Albany. This point of land is surrounded on thr(^e 
sides )jy water, and on the northwest side it is well defended liy the old French 
lines and several blockhouses. * * * On the east side of South Bay. direct- 
ly opposite to Ticonderoga. is a high circular hill, on the summit of which our 
army has erected a strong fort, witliin which is a square of barracks. This is 
<'alled Mt. Independence. A communication is maintained between the two 
places by a floating bridge tlii'own across the lake, which is aljout 400 yards 
wide. The army stationed at this post at present is supposed to consist of aliont 
eight to ten thousand men, and Maj. Gen. Gates is Commander in Chief. We 
have a naval arniamentf on Lake Champlain, below this garrison, which is com- 
manded by the intrepid Gen. Arnold; CJeu. Waterbury is second in ccnnmand. — 
The British have also a naval armament, f of superior force, at the head of which 
is the celebrated Sir Guy Carletou. 

CARl.CTON AND ARXOI.D'.S NAVAL BATTIJ:. 

" Preparations are making on both sides for a vigorous combat to decide 
■which power shall have dominion on the lake. Should Sir Guy Carleton be able 
to defeat our fleet, it is supposed that he will pursue his victorious career by an 
attempt to possesshimself of this garrison ; and our troops are making the utmost, 
exertion to put our works in the best possible state of defence. Each regiment 
has its alarm post assigned, and they are ordered to repair to it, and to man the 
lines at day light every morning. Among our defensive weapons are poles, 
about twelve feet long, armed with sharp iron points, which each soldier is to 
employ against the assailants when mounting the breast W'orks. 

" 10th. — By intelligence from our fleet, on the lake, we are in daily expectation 
of a decisive naval action, as the British are known to have a superior force ; 
our ofiicers, here, I understand, are full of anxiety respecting the important 
event. Great confidence is reposed in the judgment and bravery of Gen. Arnold, 
whom Gen. Gates has appointed to command our fleet. 

'' l.^th. — I have now to record an account of a naval engagement between the 
two fleets on Lake Champlain. || The British under command of Sir Guy Carle- 
ton, advanced ou the 11th instant, and found our fleet in a line of battle prepared 
for the attack. A warm action soon ensued, and became extremely close 
and severe, with round and grape shot, which continued al)Out four hours.— 
Brigadier General Waterbury, in the Washington galley, fouglit with undaunted 
braver}% till nearly all his oflicers-were killed and wounded, and his vessel great- 
ly injured; when General Arnold ordered the remaining shattered vessels to re- 
tire up the lake, towards Crownpoint, in order to retit. On the 13th, they were 
overtaken by the enemy, and the action was renewed, in which was displayed the 

*Some confusion among both writers and readers of the history of Chami)lain 
has resulted from not observing this early distinction between South Bay and the 
l^ake. ^ 

f Built and equipped l)y Arnold at Ticonderoga and Crownpoint. 

fBuilt at St. Johns, navigated by 700 veteran seamen. 

||This engagement occurred in the strait 'between Valcour Island and the wes- 
tern shore, just north of the mouth of the Ausable. Its history cannot be omit- 
ted in the sketches of Fort Ticonderoga, because the American vessels were 
liuilt and manned there. 



110 WHAT JirciNDKKOOA liLXJOV?. 

i'l'catf'st intrc)iiili1 V 'Hi tnidi sides. 'I'lic Wnsliiiiitdii uiilloy. iifiii.^ cripjilc tl in the 
lirsl action, ■was soon oblim-il to strike aiul smreiidcr. Con. .;\rnol(l condiu'tcd 
<liivin<j;- tho action willi r;;reat jiidfrniont. firmness, and gallantry, obstinately de- 
fi ndimj: li msflt a.ii'ainst a snpei'ioi- (bi(;e. lufth in numbers and weight of metal. 
At Icn.ntli. however, lie was .so closely ]3ressed that his situation became desiierate, 
;uul he run his own vessel, the Congress galley, on shore, which with five gondo- 
las were aliandoned an'l ))lown up.* Out of sixteen ol' onr vessels, eleven were 
taken or destroyed, fi^'e only-arrived safely at this place. Two of the enemy's 
i>ondolas were sunk bj' our fleet, and one blown up with sixty men. Their loss 
in men is supposed to \)B equal to our own, which is estimated at about one hun- 
dred. 

1 r.FPArtATIONS TO r.ECFlVK AX ATT.VCK. 

'• A large number of troops were on board the Criti.-!i fleet, consistiniT; of reg- 
nlnrs, Canadians and savages, which have been l-.inded on each side of the lake, 
and it is now expected that Sir Guy Carleton. at the head of his army, reported 
to be about 10,000 strong, will soon invest this jiost. By order of (li'n (lates, 
our commander, the greatest exertions are constantly making, by strengthening 
our works, to enal)le us to give them a warm recei)tion; and our soldiery express 
a strong desire to have an opportunity of displaj-ing thefr courage and prowess; 
both officers and men .ire full of activity and vigilance. 

" 18th. — It is now ascertained that the British army and fleet have established 
themselves at Crownpoint, and are strengthening the old fortifications at that 
jilace. Some of their vessels have ap)n-oaciied within a few miles of our garrison, 
and one boat came within cannon shot distance of 6ur lower battery, in order to 
recoiinoitre and sound the channel; but a few shot having killed two men, and 
wounded another, soon obliged her to retire. All our troops are ordered to repair 
to tlieir alarm ]iosts, and man the lines and works; every morning, our continen- 
tal colors are advantageously displayed on the ramparts, and our cannon and 
spears are in re adiness for action. 

" 20th.— Ever since the defeat of our fleet we have been providentially favored 
with a sti-ong southerly wind, which has prevented the enemy's advancing to at- 
tack our lines, and aflbrded us time to receive some reinforcements of militia, 
and to prepare for a more vigorous defence. It seems now to be the opinion of 
many of our most judicious officers, that had Sir Guy Carleton apjiroached with 
his army, imnudiately after iiis victory on the lake, the struggle must have been 
most desperate, and the result precarious; but we new feel_more confidence in 
our strength. 

CAIiLKTON RETIRES TO CANADA. 

^- JVovember 1st. — The enemy remain at Crownpoint, and evince no disposition 
to molest our garrison, having probably discovered that our means of defence are 
too formidable for them to encounter. Gen. Gates has now ordered a detachment 
of troops to march towards Ci'ownpoint. to reconnoitre their position, or to at- 
tack them. A report was soon retnrneil that the whole fleet and army have 
abandoned Crownpoint, and retired into Canada, where they will probably occu- 
py their winter quarters in peace, and it is not probable that Sir Guy Carleton 
intends to invest our garrison, at this advanced seasmi, unless, however, he shoidd 
attempt it by marching his army over the ice, when the lake is frozen, which 
will probably be very practicable. 

WINTER LIFE IV THE BARRAOv?. 

" 15th. — Ticonderoga is in about latitude forty-four degi'oes. I have no means 
in possession of ascertaining the precise degree of cold ; but we all agree that 
it is colder here than in Massachusetts at the same season. The earth has not 
yet been covered with snow, but the frost is so considerable that the water of 
tho lake is congealed, and the earth is frozen. We are comfortably situated in 
our barracks; our provisions are now good, and having no enemy near enougli 
_ to alarm or disturli us, we have nothing of importance to engage our attention. 
Our troops are quite healtliy. a few cases of rlieumatism and pleurisy comprise 
our sick-list, and it is seldom that any fatal cases occur." 
. A FAT BEAR QUELLS A RIOT. 

Deremher 26th. — \ singular kind of riot took place in our barracks last cve- 

*0n the beach at I'auton. Vt. 



WHAT TICONDEROGA ENJOVS. Ill 

siinu;, iittendcd hy Koiiie unploasaiit consequPiiccs. Col. A. W. of Mussaclin«ctts, 
made choice of his two s^iis, wlio were sohliev.s in liis regiriKMit, to discharge 
the menial duties of waiters, aiid oue of tlieiii having lieeii In-onglit up a sLoe- 
makcr. tlio Colonel was so inconsiderate as to allow him to work on his bencli in 
the same room with himself. The ridiculous conduct ha.s for some time drawn 
on the good old man the contemptuous sneers of the gentlcmeu otiicers, etpe- 
cially those from T'inupylvania Lieut. Col. C. of Wayne's regiment, being 
warmed with wine, took on himself the task of reprehending the "Vaukee" 
Colonel for thus degrading his rank.* With tliis Aiew he rushed iulo the ro(un 
ia tlie evening, and soon dispatched the shoemaker's bench ; after wiiich, he 

- made an assault on the Coloners person, and bruised him severely. 

'• The noise and coufusion soon collected a number of officers and soldiers, 
and it was a cousideraltle time before tlie rioters could be quelled. — 
Some of the soldiers of ddoiiel Wayne's regiment actually took to their arms, 
and dared the Yankees, and then ])roceeded to tlie extremity of tii-ing their guns-. 
Aliout thirty or Ibrty rounds were aimed at the soldiers of our regiment, who 
were driven "from their huts and barracks and several of them were severely 
wounded. Col. C. in niakingan assault on a superior officer, and encouraging a 
riot, is guilty of oue of the highest crimes in our articles of war. It was in the 
power of Col. W., and in fact it was his duty, to bring the audacious offenders 
to exemplary puaishraout; but, as if to complete the disgrace of the transaction, 

• -Col. C.sent some soldiers into the woods to shoot a fat bear, with which lie made 
an entertainment, and invited Col. AV. and his officers to partake of it ; this af- 
fected a reconciliation; and Col. W. was induced to overlook the high-handed as- 
sault on his o^\^l person and on the lives of his soldiers. Our Colonel is a serious, 
good man, but is more conversant with the economy of domestic life than the 
etiquette practised in camp."' 

\\V.\X FROM X tnCH MOrXTAIX. 

" June, 1777. — Byway of amusement I Ment Avith three gentlcmaH of our 
bospital to endeavor to explore a high mountain in this vicinity. "With 
much difficulty we clambered up and reached the summit. From this com- 
uiauding eminence we had oue of the most singularly romantic views which 
imagination caa paint. Northward we behokl Lake Champlaiu, a prodig- 
ous expanse of unruffled water, -widening and straitening as the banks and 
cliffs project into its channel. This lake extends about 100 miles toward 
Quebec, and is from one to five miles wide. On each side is a thick unin- 
habited wilderness, variegated by hills and dales; here the majestic oak, ches- 
nut and pine, rear their ioity heads; there the diminutive shrub forms a 
thicket for the retreat of wild beasts. Looking southwest^ from our stand, 
we have a view of a part of Lake George, emptying its waters into Lake 
Champlain, near Ticonderoga. Turning to the east, the prodigious hcighbs^ 
called Green Mountains, ascending almost to the clouds, are exhibited to 
view, with the settlements in that tract of territory called New Hampshire 
grant. The ancient fortress at Crown Point is about twelve miles north of 
this place; it is by nature a very strong position but it has been abandoned 
by both armies." 

Thus the garrison at Ticon(ieroga, though guarding an import.int fron- 
tier, led an easy life, a merry life, a well-fed happy life, while Washing- 
ton was retreating in gloom across the Jerseys, and while his troops had 
revived courage for the American cause by the victorie.« at Trenton and 
at Princeton. Very soon, however, England gave Ticondoroga some 
thing to do. 

Sect- XLI.— Capture by Burffoyne, 1777. 
In the summer of 1777, General John Burgoyne, the brave, the no- 
ble, the accomplished, the pompous, came ?weoping down Champlaiu 
Valley, fulminating sanguninary proclamations, hiring savage mcrcena- 

^it is noticatile how innuy irieas of ruuk, " gcutlerncn ofliceis,'' tlio ■•• menial (iufios of waitiiis," 
., prevalent at Ihc dale of thia extract, are obsolete now iu tne United states. 

i From this description it it; certain that the clovatinn merilioued could have hccn no other tliuu 
Mt. liuiA.vcs, just across Horitou's outlet frum the I'oM', 



112 WHAT TICONDEROUA ENJOVS. 

rics, arraying his lordly titles, and ra»3naciiig all opposcrs of Lis nutlior- 
ity with his avenging power. All New England, all the United States, 
were looking with intense expectation upon Ticonderoga to place obsta- 
cles, perhaps a terminus, to his torniidable march. As a scene of his- 
torical interest, and as a determining cause of American liberty, the 
event of Burgoyne's expedition and defeat, is unsurpassed in impor • 
tauce in the whole history of the Kevolution. The appointments at 
Ticonderoga, the plan of the British government, and the state of the 
defences at the fortress and vicinity, are exceedingly well stated by 
Thaoher, an anxious eye-witness of the event. 

"June, 1777. — Congress have appointed Maj. Gen. Schuyler to command 
fn the northern department, including Albany, Ticonderoga, Fort Stanwis 
and their dependencies, and Maj. Gen. St. Clair has the immediate command 
of the posts ol Ticonderoga and Mt. Independence. It isalso understood that 
the British government have appointed Lieut. Gen. Burgoyne Commandei in 
('hief of their army in. Canada, consisting, it is said, of eight or len thou- 
sand men. 

" According to authentic reports, the plan of the British government for 
the present campaign is that Gen. Burgoyne's army shall take possession of 
Ticonderoga, and force his way through the country to Albany; to facilitate 
this event, Col. St. Ledger is to march with a party of British, Germans, 
Canadians and Indians to the IMohawk river, and make a diversion in tb-it 
quarter. The royal army at New York, under command of Gen. Howe, i3 
to pass up the Hudson river, and, calculating on success in all quarters, the 
three armies are to form a junction at Albany. Here, probably, the three 
commanders are to congratulate each other on their mighty achievements, 
and the flattering prospects of crushing the rebellion. This being accom- 
plished, the communication between the southern and eastern states will be 
interrupted, and, New England, as they suppose, may become an easy prey. 

" Judging from the foregoing detail, a very active campaign is to be ex- 
pected, and events of the greatest magnitude are undoubtedly to be unfolded . 

" The utmost exertions are now making to strengthen our works at Ticon- 
deroga, and, if possible, to render the post invulnerable. Mt. Independence, 
directly opposite to Ticonderoga, is strongly fortified and well supplied with 
artillery. On the summit of the Mt., which is table land, is erected a strong 
fort, in the centre of which is a convenient square of barracks, a part of 
which are occnpied for our hospital. 'J'he communication between these 
two places is maintained by a floating bridge; it is supported on 22 sunken 
piers of very large timber, the spaces between these are filled with 'separ- 
ate floats, each about fifty feet long and twelve wide, strongly fastened to- 
gether with iron chains and rivets. A boom composed of large pieces of 
timber, well secured together by riveted bolts, is placed on the north side of 
the bridge, and by the side of this is placed a double iron chain, the links 
of which are one and a half inch square. The construction of this bridge, 
boom and chain, of tour hundred yards in length, has proved a most laborious 
undertaking, and the expense must'have been immense. It is, however, sup- 
posed to be admirably adapted to the double purpose of a communication, 
and an impenetrable barrier to any vessels that might attempt to pass our 
works. 

Julij 1st. — We are now assailed by a proclamation of a very extraordinary 
nature from Gen. Burgoyne. * * The miHtia of New England are daily 
coiniug in to increase our strength ; the number of our troops, and our abil- 
ity to dcl'cnd the works against the approaching enemy, are considerations 
which belong to our conlmanding officers. ^ * One fact, however, is no- 
torious, that when the tioops are directed to man the lines, there is not a 
sufficient number to occupy their whule extent. It appears, nevertheless, so 
far as 1 can learn, to be the prevalent opiuiouj that wc shall be able to repel 



WHAT TxC0NDEI>O(iA ENJOYS. 113! 

the meditated attack, find defeat tnc views of the royal cominaikicr; botl^ 
officers and men arc in higli spirits and prepared for the contest."* 

With all these precautions, Mt. J>efiance, overlooking and connmand- 
iag the fortress, was not fortified. This was not a result of ignorance 
or inattention entirely, as is often stated, but mainly of want of men. 
The danger arising {rom the height and prosiinity of this mountain ; 
then called Sit^ar Loaf Hill, had been pointed out only the year be- 
fore by Col. Trumbull, then Adjutant General for the northern depart- 
ment. His assertions were laughed at, at the tide, by soldiers and of- 
ficers; but he soon demonstrated the superiority of his own judgment 
by throwing a cannon ball to the summit of the mountain, and after- 
ward clambered up to the top, accompanied by Col. Wavnc and Ar- 
nold.! 

Meanwhile the formidable army of Eurgoync, composed of British 
rank and file 3724 ; Grermans, rank snd file, 3016 ; Canadians and pro- 
vincials, about 250; Indians about 400, hired at the mouth of the Bo- 
quct — total 7490 — was cautiously approaching Ticonderoga. Having 
established at Crownpoint, from which a few American soldiers had fled, 
a hospital, magazine, a store housQ, these forces encamped before Ticon 
deroga, July 1, 1777. On the west side of the lake were light infan- 
try, grenadiers, Canadians, Indians, and 10 pices of light artillery un- 
der command of Brig. Gen. Fraser at Putts Creek. These were 
moved up to Five Mile Point, yet retaining the same name, from its being 
that distance below Ticonderoga. At the same time, on the east side of 
the lake, the German reserve, were moved up to a point in Shorcham, 
nearly opposite, under Lieut. Col. Breyman. The remainder of the 
array were on board the gunboats and the frigates Royal George and 
Inflexible, under the immediate command of Burgoync himself. This 
naval armament was anchored between the two wings of the army, just 
out of reach of cannon shot from the fort. 

It was soon ascertained by scouts that St. Clair had left Mt. Hope 
and Mt. Defiance unfortified. On the second of July, Burgoyne's right 
wing moved forward. It was hoped by St. Clair that an attack was 
about to be made on the old French lines, and accordingly, after slight 
resistance, the regiments at the block houses toward lake Iloricon, at tho 
saw mills, and at the block house near the lines, abandoned and burnt 
their works, and came within the entrenchments. Immediately availing 
themselves of this advantage. Generals Phillips and Fraser, with the 
advanced light infantry and artillery, took possession of a rocky eleva- 
tion, just north of the present site of the lower village, which, as it 
commanded to a considerable degree the American lines and completely 
cut off their communication with Lake George, and, therefore, gave 
ground for expectations of taking the fortress, they named Ml. llofe. 
Here they rapidly threw up entrenchments, and, after two days of ex- 
traordinary energy and activity, succeeded in bringing up their artillery, 
stores, and ammunition.;]: A cannonade was immediately begun be- 
tween these heights and the French lines. 



*fhaU-licrs Military Jnui-u;il during Ihc American Rc>>olntioii, pp. 79-8'2. 

■j-Bordcr Wars of the American Revolution, by Wm. Stone, Vol. I, p. 179. 
JMt. Hope is an iiliriipt auil rocky elevation on tlio west side of the outlet of 
Lake Horicon near llic lower falls. It is especially I'oiigh andprecii)itous on the 
north east side, llangcs of breast-works, angles lor cauuon, &c., enclosing about 
four acres arc yet to be seen upon this interesting locality, also near by a log 
Viviflge over a marsli, built for (he trauspoi-taliou ot the cuunon- 



114 WHAT TICONDEROUA ENJOYS. 

Unsuspected l)y the Americans, Lt. Twif^s, the chief engineer in Bur- 
jjoyne's army, had meanwhile rcconnoitercd Sngaj- Hill. He reported 
that it was unoccupied; that it completely overlooked and commanded 
the works on the Promontory and on ]\It. Independence ; and that a 
cannon road could be cut to its summit in 24 hours. By arduous and 
prolonged labor the road was completed on the night of th& fourtlj. — 
The cannonade out-noised the asesand falling trees, and the pale moon- 
light shimmering through the arches of the mountain pines hardly re- 
vealed the laboring soldiers to each other. That afternoon the Thun- 
dcrtr^ one of Burgoyne's squadron, had landed several pices of artillery, 
which, before morning, were, with incredible celerity and exertion, 
transported to the summit, light twelve pounders, medium twelves and 
eight inch hoswitcrs. So well occupied and guarded was the space be- 
tween the French lines and Mt. Hope that this movement was executed 
without being discovered by the Americans. As the British officers, 
weary and anxious but elated, drilled their cannon to the summit crag 
of Sugar Hill, and waited looking down upon the strongest fortress of 
the rebels, for the sun to rise, they changed the name of that com- 
anding eminence to Mt. Defiance. 

It was with terror and astonishment that the garrison of St. Clair 
perceived on the morning of the 5th, the flaunting cross of St. George 
among the pines of Mt. Defiance Their enemy could look down into all 
the fortifications, count every man, and inspect every movement. The 
distance in a straight line from the battery was perhaps over two miles; 
but heavy shot fired at a sufficient elevation from that height would soou 
demolish their barracks, and red hot balls might fire their magazine. 

Anxious and care worn, St. Clair called a council of war. To evacu- 
ate the fort would be to sacrifice his reputation ; to remain in it, would 
sacrifice his soldiers. His defences were strong, but Congress had not 
supplied the garrison with food, clothing, ammunition andreinforcemeotg. 
The tardiness or inability of Congress in these particulars had precluded 
the possibility of occupying Mt. Hope or IMl. Defiance. The entire 
force under the command of St. Clair consisted of only 2546 continen- 
tals, and 900 militia of whom not one in ten had bayonets. These 
were not sufficient to man the lines when all on duty, and of course 
could not endure the necessity which would arise of being kept in con- 
tinued action during a protracted seige. In this emergency St. Clair 
displayed a disregard of personal consequences no less noble than wl^^e 
and patriotic. An evacuation was immediately resolved upon as the 
only alternative that would save the army. 

As all the movements of the garrison could be seen from Mt. Defiance, 
nothing was done till dark, and the troops were not told of the deter- 
mination of their officers until the evening order. At dusk a tremen- 
dous cannonade was commenced from the battery near Mt. Hope, and 
kept up till the moment of departure. Every cannon that could not be 
moved was spiked. All the lights were put out before the tents were 
t-truck. Then came the gathering of provisions, arms, ammunition, 
and stores, and the hurrying to and fro between the fort and grena- 
diers battery, and across the bridge. There was much confusion. With 
iorrow the regiment.; departed one by one in haste, and not long after 
midnight the grey old walla of Ticondcropa were left silent. 

At till ce o'clock ja the morning of the uixth the tioop& began to 



WHAT TiCONDEROfiA F.NMOYS. 1 !•"> 

cross the briJge. The tramp of heavy feet couli] hardly be distinguislied 
from the ripple of waves on the tunhers in the breezy summer night, 
while the pale light of the moon was not Rufliciont to reveal the .scene 
to the sentinels on Mt. Defiance. Suddenly the luminary in the sky \h 
aided by another, rising, with broader and more fatal glow, fiom the 
bosom of Mt. Independence. Contrary to express orders, (jcn. De 
Fermoy, in leaving his works, had set his house on fire. Immediately 
revealed by the light of this burning building, which glared far acros.s 
Champlain, to the watchful enemy, the troops hasten their flight and 
become more confused. It was four o'clock, and the morning dew had 
begun to fall, and some notes of wakeful robins had been heard when 
the rear guard, under Col, Francis, left Mt. Independence. 

Of the moonlight voyage to Skeensboro, it were unpardonable no tto 
quote the account of so competent and appreciative a witness as the 
surgfion of St. Clair's army: 

"At about twelve o'clock, in the night of Hth instant," writes Thacher 
iu iis Journal, " I was urgently called from sleep, and informed that our 
army was in motion, and was instantly to abandon Ticonderoga and Mt. 
Independence. I could scarcely believe tliat my informant was in earnest, 
but the confusion and bustle soon convinced me that it was really true, and 
that the short time allowed demanded my utmost industry. It was enjoined 
on me immediately to collect the sick and wounded and as much of the hos- 
pital stores as possible, and assist iu embarking tliem on board the batteaux 
and boats at the shore. Ifaving with all possible dispatch completed our 
embarkation, at three o'clock in the morning of the 6tli, we commenced our 
voyage up the south bay to Skeensboro, about thirty miles. Our fleft con- 
sisted of five armed gallies and two hundred batteaux and boats, deeply 
laden with cannon, tents, provisions, invalids and women. We were accom 
panied by a guard of 600 men, commanded by Col. Long of New Hamp- 
shire. 

" The night was moonlight and pleasant, the sun burst forth in the morn- 
ing with uncommon lustre, the day was fine, the water's surface serene and 
unruffled. The shore on each side exhibited a variegated view of huge 
rocks, caverns and clefts, and the whole was bounded by a thick impenetrable 
wilderness. My pen would fail in the attempt to describe a scene so en- 
chautingly sublime. 'J'he occasion was peculiarly interesting, and we could 
but look back with regret and forward with apprehension. Wc availed 
ourselves, however, of the means of enlivening our spirits. The drum and 
fife afforded us a favorite music; among the hospital stores we found many 
dozen bottles of choice wine, and, breaking off their necks, we cheered our 
hearts with the nectarous contents. 

" At three o'clock in the afternoon we reached our destined post at Skoens- 
boro, being the head of navigation for our gallies. Ilere we were unsus- 
picious of danger ; but, behold ! Burgoyne himself was at our heels. In less 
than two hours we were struck with surprise and consternation by a dis- 
charge of cannon from the enemy's fleet , on our gallics and batteaux lying 
at the wharf. By uncommon efforts and industry they had broken through 
the bridge, boom and chain, which coat our people such immense labor, 
and had almost overtaken us on the lake, and horribly distastrous indeed 
would have been our fate. It was not long before it was perceived that a 
number of their troops and savages had landed, and were rapidly advancing 
towards our little party. The officers of our guard now attempted to rally 
the men and form then; in battle array ; but this was found impossil)le ; ev- 
ery effort proved unavailing : and in the utmost panic they were seen to Hy 
in every du-ection for personal safety. In this desperate condition, I per- 
ceived our officers scampering for their baggage ; I ran to the batteau, 
seized my chest, carried it a short distance, took from it a few articles, and 



116 WHAT TIL'ONDEROGA ENJOYS. 

instantly followed in the train of our retreating party. We took the route 
to Fort Anne, through a narrow defile in the woods, and were so closely 
pressed by the pursuing enemy, that we frequehtly heard calls from the rear 
■to " march on, the Indians are at our heels." 

" Having marched all night we reached Fort Anne at five o'clock in the 
morning, where we found provisions for our refreshment. A small rivutet 
called Wood Creek is navigable for boats from Skeensboro' to Fort Anne, 
by which means some of our invalids and baggage made their escape ; but 
all ou^ cannon, provisions, and the bulk of our baggage, with several inva- 
lids, fell into the enemies hands."* 

Meanwhile, the battle at Hubbarton had been fought by Colonels 
Warner and Francis, with Col. Breyman, who had started on the pur- 
suit as soon as the burning house revealed the retreat. St. Clair was 
advancing toward his superior in command, General Schuyler, with 
whom he was to suffer a storm of reproach and be deposed from his 
military rank until Congress and the people could overcome the surprise 
caused by the evacuation, and weigh justly the reasons which induced 
it. At daylight on the morning of the retreat. Gen. Frazer ran up the 
British flag at Ticonderoga, where the stripes of America and the tri- 
color of France had waved before; and when the sun rose above the 
Green Mountains, and flooded the wide valley of Champlain with sum- 
mer morn, it beheld that proud ensign of Burgoyne, victorious for the 
last time. 

Sect- XLII.— Subsequent History. 
One more battle, as important to the interests of Freedom as any 
that had preceded it, was to be fought at Ticonderoga. This was not 
between generals, but between diplomatists. After the battle of Ben- 
fiington Col, Brown advanced and took all the outposts of Ticonderoga 
except Mt. Defiance, rescuing one hundred prisoners, making two hun- 
dred and ninety three more, and recovering the continental standard 
that had been left by St. Glair. On hearing of the retreat of Burgoyne 
at Saratoga, the garrison left at Ticonderoga retreated to Canada, and 
were pursued, and forty nine of their number, with cattle, horses and 
boats, taken by the Green Mountain Rangers ; but the fortress was 
again occupied in 17S0 by the British Gen. Haldibrand and became the 
scene of those diplomatic negotiations between Vermont and England 
which have been so often discussed and which historians have enveloped 
in such obscurity. Public documents however, are not wantingf to 
show that the armistice established between Haldibrand and the Ver- 
mont authorities and the negotiations which followed were not dictated 
by any disloyalty to Congress on the part of Allen, Chittenden and 
others who were engaged in them, but by the most consummate political 
sagacity. A masterly diplomatic bait and inactivity were used to shield 
the whole northern frontier, and effectually arrested for a long period 
the action of Haldibrand's 10,000 troops. Soon came peace, then de- 
stroying time, crumbling walls, venerablencss, and visitors, to the pres- 
ent day. 

Sect. XLIII.— Present State of the Ruins. 
In approaching the ruins of Fort Ticonderoga, as a majority of visi- 
tors do, by walking up along the road from the lake or the Pavillion, the 

"^Thacher's Military Journal during the American Revolution, pp. 824, 
1 11. W. DePuy's Ethan Alien ami Green Mountain Heroes of '76, pp. 410-23 



WHAT TICONDEROGA EN.IOVS. 11/ 

'lirst object of interest is the old well by the roadside at the right, wLidi 
supplied water to the garrisons. Though not as safe as if within the 
fortress, it is protected from capture by its nearness to tho covering 
bastion.^ of the fort, and by its position on a side on wliieli the enemy 
would not be likely to approach. The sally post of tho fortie.ss is upon 
the opposite side. You notice the size and depth of the well. Its in- 
ner diameter is seven feet and four inches ; the depth to which a polo 
can now be run down, ten feet and three inches ; the thickness of tho 
wail, thirty inches. Though an unfailing spring* the water is rendered 
unfit for use by the old rotting logs, and green moss and slime, that are 
allowed to fill it. Bunches of elder cling to the inner wall and tho frogs 
on the iioatiug slabs are not too far down to be out of the sunlight. 

Turning to the left from the well you follow a path up the ascent to 
the opening of the covered way which led out to the well. That path 
is the very one along which in the gray dawn of the May morning, 
guided by Nathan Beman, a Vermont boy familiar with the passages of 
■ the garrison, Ethan Allen and his eighty men, approached the fort. — 
Those two elm trees covered with vines stand just beyond the wicket 
gate, or entrance to the covered way, where the sentinel snapped the 
fusee. This was the back door of the fortress and Ethan entered with- 
out knocking. You cannot enter the covered way for it is now filled 
up and marked only by a lengthened hollow. On each side of this^ 
however, especially near the outer extremity, under the trees, you can 
trace the walls of the passage, along the surface of the ground, 33 inches 
apart, and, it you care for relics, may gather a lock of moss or pound 
off a piece of the limestone, from the very opening of that marked spot 
in history. There is no doubt about the locality: Ethan Allen's narra- 
tive, other accounts, tradition, the position of the well, the sunken way 
and walls before you, all go to establish the identity of the spot. You 
follow the depression to the left 25 paces to the edge of the counters- 
carp, which you mount, and tumbling across the ruins of the eastern 
line of barracks, at their extreme southern end, of which the foundations 
only remain, you find the passage entering the parade ground at its south 
east corner, seven feet wide. Here with swift feet poured in Ethan 
Allen's men; on the two longer sides they were arranged; forty in a 
jL-ow facing the barracks so as to be ready to receive the garrison, then 
waked by the invading party's tremendous cheers. 

To havo a clear idea of Ethan Allen's memorable surprise, you muFt 
imagine the ruined barracks on the south, east and north to be restored, 
windows in, oak doors on their hinges, roofs renewed, a galley running 
around the entire enclosure in front of the second story, and this bright 
flood of summer light exchanged to the deep shadows of the hour be- 
fore sunrise. In the norlli west corner of the parade ground toward 
Mt. Defiance you mu.st see a pair of wooden stairs mounting to the gal- 
lery. Up these stairs Ethan Allen hurries, with young Beman at his 
elbow, and stands before the first door in tho second story at the south 
end of the west line of barracks. You hear the loud rapping with the 
bilt of his sword; you sec La Place open the door yet in his night dres.s 
with a candle in his hand; you sec his pretty wife peeping over his 
ehoulder, shuddering while the barrack doors arc beaten down. You hear 
the parley, the demand, the expostulating, the ring of Ethan Allen's 
sword, and oaths, and the surrender. Then if you wait you may see 



US NVllAX TlCONDEROrrA E>;JOY>;. 

tliR frarrison paraded witliniit arms, the wild delight of tho victors, that 
sunrise which Allen rcoorded ar5 one of ' superior lustre,' while all the 
while around the counterscarp boom the cannon that announce to the 
continent the first victory of American Liberty. If you turn back to 
Ethan Allen's own graphic account of the scene, you will find nothing 
to contradict the correctness of your information as to localities. Tho 
persons and events are not more sure. The testimony of Isaac Kice, 
whose brother was with Ethan Allen at that time, and who himself per- 
formed garrison duty here under St. Clair, often given to the writer and 
to travelers, establishes all other traditions and records, that the door 
in tho iipjycr s/ory sov.th e^td of the western Ihie of barracks was actually 
that of the chamber of La Place. Some curious tourists take the 
trouble to carry away a bit of the plaster from that chamber or of limo- 
ptone from the casing of that door, and whatever value one's taste may 
set upon the relics, their authenticity cannot be questioned. '5> 

You stand now in the centre of the fortress, an open square made by 
two story barracks, substantially built of lime stone. Those to the 
west, are yet standing; those to the south, partially ruined; those to 
the cast and north, entirely destroyed, except the foundations and cel- 
lar walls. This square was the parade ground. You pace it, and make 
it 160 feet long by about 70 broad. The thistles stand thick about the 
ptones scattered over tho green sward on which the lengthening shadows 
of the ruins fall. Roofless, doorless, windowless^ the old barracks have 
a ghastly appearance as they stare at you across the parade ground. — 
Two stories, each with six ghastly window holes with no panes but air, 
no sash but spider webs and ivy, remind one strongly of the dilapida- 
ting power of time. Yet Fort Ticonderoga is one of the best preserved 
ruin.s of its age and material, on the continent. You enter the barracks 
and find the old plaster firm yet on the walls of the apartments. Large 
fire places with chimneys carried up within the walls remind you of the 
cosy times officers and men must have had there when wood was plenty 
and enemies few. Yet cosy times bred indolence, and indolence riot 
and desertion, and so punishment was needed now and then. In this 
alley between the cuds of the west and south barracks was a gallows, 
and that portion of a burnt and rotting beam, standing out of the wall, 
is «aid (o have been a part of it. 

Immediately before you as you leave the alley ten feet wide toward 
Mt. Defiance, are several abrupt grassy mounds, said to have been 
made by the blowing up of the magazine, an underground room located 
under them, in this unexposed part of the fortress. , 

In the warm sunlight of this summer's day, the time will be well spent 
if you find your way down the steep bastion toward the south and sit 

*Sce I/).s.siiig's Fiolil Book of the Rovolutiou for an oxcollent portrait of Kice, his personal hi.'^. 
tory, an<l accoimt ofthe fort. By his own reque.ft, this old .soldier was buried within the fortress. 

(^Thc writer believe.s that there oufiht to be and will he eventually a monument to Ktban Allen on 
the promonotory of Ticonderoga. And what spot of all the continent so appropriate for its erec- 
tion as thi.s soutii west corner of the parade ground where the exploit that h;us made his name im- 
mortal wa.s performed? Not even his burial place. Klhan Allen docs not rest at Bm-lington, de- 
spite his monument. He rests at Ticonderoga, — just here by tho side of these gray crumbling 
walls, whither travelers feet would not so often turn had his not trod here. ?omo man of pa- 
triotism and enterprise ought to commence action in this matter speedily. If travelers could be 
assured that their contributions would actually go for a monument to Ktban Allen to be erected 
among the ruins, they would drop enough with any responsible company at the Pavillion and 
],ake licorgc Hotels to build it in half a dozen seasons. Mr. Pell of New York, not only the owner 
but the appreciating guardian of the '■Fori Grounds,"' would, doubtless, favor the enterprise witti 
material aid. 



WHAT TICONDEROlIA ENJOYS. ' 119 

down to rest a moment upon the extreme edge of the outer wall over- 
looking the outlet of Lake George tow.-iid Mt. Defiance, and titiidy llu! 
landscape with its assoeiatious. It is a descent of one hundred feet 
down the steep edge of this spur-corner, along the bushes and the little 
bit of pasture, to the water of the lake. A regiment of youiif .sumacs 
press up the acclivity of the ruins at the foot of the wall and almo.st 
scale the summit; over them twines the ivy, forming stacks of green 
shadow, and, concjuering by gently wining tendrils where the soldier 
with bayonet and cannon might strive in vain, mounts to the very ton 
and looks into the enclosure. The steady song of the cricket undulates 
iu the warmth of the sunlight. The chirps of bird and squirrel amouf 
the bushes, mingle with the scarce heard plash of water on the beach 
and the sounds from distant farm houses. The lumber-loaded craft on 
the lake remind you of the invaluable water power at Ticonderoga. — 
A steamer perhaps, has just passed and leaves a white track on the still 
water, where once, beneath the guns from this fort, nothing above the 
surface could .pa.^s and live. That track you will remember is that for 
the command of which two great nations struggled, poured out the blood 
of armies, and treasure by millions. 

Opposite your resting place in Vermont, the well-wooded slope of 3Ii. 

Indcpencknce, mantle in the sun with deep green and heavy shadows. 

The table land of its summit has three rich spots of earth; burial 
grounds of soldiers, all save one undistinguished graves, with littlu 
rough head stones with no inscriptions, — and that one a name unknown. 
The hospital was on Mt. Independence. Should you give yourself the 
pleasure of a boat ride across the water between Grcnadier''s Battery afc 
the end of this promontory yonder, and Mt. Independence, over the 
very waters formed by the bridge and boom broken by Burgoyne, you 
would find the edge of the pasture in which you land flanked by a bat- 
tery next the water, and on the summit the horse shoe battery of the 
old picket fort enclosing the platform and table of pic-nic parties, besides 
the ruins of the hospital and the graves. In the depth of a July moon- 
light night you might see that mount as it looked when St. Clair retreat- 
ed over it, leaving this fortress to Burgoyne. Travelers ought to visit 
Mt. Independence, but, it will be something more than a majority can 
boast, if you look at it and know what is there. 

Across the outlet of Horicon, the bold and rocky side of Mt. Dc/i- 
ancc, sloping to the sun, presents a glory of light and shade. Its sum- 
mit commands us. Ten bristling cannon there, though two miles away, 
would defeat a hundred mounted here. They knew it in St. Clair's 
time, but they had not men enough to man the mountain. The mere 
sight of the red-coats and their battery, commanding there, drove St. 
Clair's array out of these strong walls. Looking yonder, Montcalm 
returning from the old French lines where Abercrombie had sacrificed 
two thousand troops in a vain attempt to take the fort, made his proud 
boast that ho could take Carillon with two cannon and six mortars.—^ 
The beautiful clouds in a sky than which earth hath not a bluer, are at 
this moment the back ground against which the mountain pines pencil 
their forms — living green against silver white and lx)th aglow in blue, 
reaecfully fall the shadows ol the orchard trcc.j ; peacefully spread the 
I'arms and rise the wooded lots, peacefully the cattle yonder, wadino- 
tiom the loAv point, atand iu the cool pla^h of the wavt;: amoug the HI- 



J 20 WHAT TICON'UEROGA ENJOVP. 

lies; yet, over these same lulls roamed Rogers, Stark, ant! Putnam m 
another age ; over these same waters and vallies echoed nnirtial musie, 
boom of musketry and cannon, sliouts of combat, groans of infuriated 
hosts, in days long gone by. War's stern traces only become sublimo 
by contrast with the scenes of peace. 

That broad spreading elm, between you and the lake, stands in a 
lengthened sinking of the pasture which they tell us was the under- 
ground passage to the lake. It has never been explored, yet you may 
mark distinctly what secras to be the place where it entered the walls. 
It is the shortest cut to the water's edge, and no doubt was used as a 
protecting though not probably as a secret passage. 

One tradition before you rise. This bastion has a story, reported in 
some rare books and apparently well-authenticated. Au Indian girl, of 
remarkable beauty, taken during the French wars, was confined in this 
fortress. Iler attractions cost her the coarse and dogged attentions of 
a French officer, whom all her scorn and vehemence coald not cast 
off. Completely in his power her life become a continual torture. — 
AValking by compulsion with him one night upon tbc walls, she saved 
her virtue by leaping from this giddy parapet upcc the rocks below. — 
The Very limestone of ibis wall is ennobled, the very ruins among which 
she fell, are glorified, by the touch of feet up-bear^ag such a spi'rit and 
soul as hers. You Will never forget the spot where, distracted, mfiaglcd, 
and dying, that Indian girl fell, nor regret the savage veDgeance wMch 
pursued lier murderer and his garrison. 

As you rise now and follow the outer wall to the north, you' sooil come 
to a break with an inleading path, which marks the old spot of the en- 
trance, and sally port. It is well to stop and think how many comman- 
ders and soldiers have here gone in and out, sometimes with hearts 
trembling before battles, sometimes exulting in victory — Montcalm, 
Amherst, Allen, Gates, St. Clair, Broyman, Haldibrand. The whole 
fort is in the form of a star, with nine sharp spaaglos. You notice al- 
so that the entire north side of the fortress, as you walk around it, 
keeping on the counterscarp (15 to 30 ft. wide) close to the outer wall, 
was protected by a deep trench or covered way, W feet wide by 10 deep,^ 
flowing \n two places, one near the entrance and the other opposite the 
northern barracks, around high bastions. This side was the most ex- 
posed, the height of the parapet not being increased here as on the op- 
posite by the precipitousnesa of the ground, and this being the side 
next the lines, from which an enemy would naturally approach. No 
trench was needed on the south side, the height of the walls forming a 
sufficient defence against any attacks possible from that quarter. Sharp 
angles in the counterscarp are matched by curves in the trench, which, 
leading in and out, and standing so firmly after more than a century, 
must have been a splendid piece of masonry. Twining up the sides of 
the bastioris, and weaving across the wide trench, the ivy covers the 
nests of birds in the straggling slu-ubs, and adds its strength and pro- 
tection to the mortar in the walls. In crossing to where you entered, 
you go down to the bottom of the trench near its cast end. A soft carpet 
of green grass now mantled the place where the old floor lay. Instead 
of the tramp of feet the jay wings sharply out to you from the solitary 
i'Mcn plue tliut overshadowed the rampailL-. Sombre is your walk: thtrt 



WHAT TICONDEHOC.A ENJOYS. 121 

are the marks of the old blasting iron, held and dri?en by hands long 
since cold. 

Bufc you climb a steep ascent out of the trench and stand, perhaps 
uucousciously, above one of the best preserved portions of the ruins. — 
It is the Oven, entered by a p;iasage way through the cellar in the north 
end of the ruins of the east line of barracks, directly in the corner of 
the parade ground toward the Pavillion. It is visited by scores daily 
in the season of travel, as the countless names on the walls testify. 
,, A squirrel chirps and runs into his hole as you stoop through a low 
square door and enter an arched underground apartment, twelve feet 
wide and thirty in length, perfectly bomb proof. It is some ten fceb 
high, and the bottom covered with stone and earth fallen in. As the 
iris expands in the darkness, you notice two ovens in the further end, 
ten feet deep, eight broad, and nearly six in height. There is a tradi- 
tion that a passage runs from these underground to the lake, but ii has 
never been explored, and from the distance to the lake in this direction, 
it is exceedingly uncertain. A substantial and safe kitchen is this room 
however. Shot or shell could hardly reach here, that is, with the old 
guns, for with our modern artillery Ticonderoga's walls could doubtless 
be battered down. But thf? mortar is thick and strong yet; the old 
engineers were not chary of the lime stone on which and with which the 
fort is built. A sky-light five feet by three, opens on one side of this 
arched roof, through which provisions were probably let down into the 
store room. You look up to see the frown of no armed watch, no 
steady pace sober sentinel; but, instead of these, the white flowers of 
the daisy or the yellow of the golden rod, a bush of alder, and far above 
the blue depths of" the sky. 

As you come out of the oven and find yourself in one of the old cel- 
lars of the barracks, you notice that some of the old beams and posts 
are standing. A knife applied to their heavy gray corners will show that 
they are of oak from the magnificent hard-wood forests of the old 
times. , 

Standing again on the grassy mound above the underground room just 
left, there remains but one more look to take, and the farewell. 

An extended landscape is around you, rarely surpassed in natural 
beauty or in richness of historical associations. The lake and the clear 
outlet of Horicon circle and defend the promontory on every side but 
one. In the woods on the fourth side to the north are the old French 
lines.* Mts. Independence and Defiance are close at hand, while high 
in the distance to the east rise the Green Mountains, clothed in softest 
blue seen through a crystal atmosphere. It is said by travelers that 
nothing iu America is so much like Italy, as the view of the Green 
Mountains from the New York shore ot Lake Charaplain. That point 
on the Vermont shore nearly over the Pavillion is that from which 
Ethan Allen debarked, and the shore opposite clothed in alders, where 
he landed. Call up now, all the history connected with the spot, all 
the fierce struggles of the past for the possession of those grey walls, as 
you may, and their grim quiet and desolation, their solemn mournful 
smile in the sunlight as you say farewell, is sufiiciently impressive. — 

*Tlic.-io, the most iut'^rosHng portion of the fortress for iinmon^f loss of life, can be .scrn from 
tho stage la passing to or from the village. The breastworks can be tracerl for a thousand pace* 
ilirougi) tUo wools, full of angles and fronted by a ditch. The bloody battle field wa.-< ju-st ia frout 
of theai. 



'122 WHAT TICONBEROGA EN JO VS. 

Over the grounds inf-tead of gleaming steel or cannon ball, the soft 
thistle downs float in the risiue wind. Instead of the cross of St. 
(reorge. the tri-color, or the stripes, the ivy leaves rustle on the ram- 
parts, and in and out at the broken windows go undisturbed the sing- 
ing birds, with nests within the walls. At times, as you stand still in ' 
reverie listening to your thoughts, — perhaps in a sumiiier evening, when 
the ruins are most impressive — the scarce heard plash of waves around 
the promonotory, and the sighing of the lake wind among the leaves 
and broken angi'^s of the ramparts, seem transformed to a still myste- 
rious voice, as of a spirit in the air. ' It is gone — gone — gone,' saith 
the pulsating sound, keeping harmony with your thoughts. ' Mont- 
calm, Abercrombie, Howe, Amherst, Allen, St. Clair, ]^urgoyne — In- 
dian, French, English, Colonist — burning torch — savage cry — pouring 
blood — booming gun — nevermore — nevermore, nevermore.' And the 
waves, irregular, beginning low and growing louder with glad emphasia 
along the shore, seem to answer: ' Evermore, evermore — peace, peace, 
peace.' These are among the lessons of all military ruins, especially 
of Fort Ticonderoga. No visitor should leave the scene of the first 
victory of American Liberty without heartier gratitude for the immense 
results of the struggle here begun, and a profounder sense of duty in the 
conflict of the present day, on which depends their enlargement and 
transmission. The old ruins proclaim that for the freedom of America 
the battles of military hosts are passed, those of mind with mind remain. 
Peace, O Carillon, we leave with thee, and go forth thoughtfully, lesa 
noble soldiers in nobler wars than thine. 

Sect. XLIV.---Jifatural Scenery. 

Painters, city tourists, and professed students of nature usually ex- 
press great admiration for the natural scenery of Ticonderoga. Those 
bold mountain summits, rich varieties of landscape, and ever changing 
beauties of the sky, which have made the vicinity of Lake Horicon the 
resort of so many distinguished artists, anxious to study American 
Scenery in its most beautiful and imposing forms, all belong to Ticon- 
deroga. Indeed, not only the .^ame qualities of scenery which have 
made the lake known throughout the world, belong to the town, but 
others of a higher kind in addition. If Ticonderoga contains one of 
the most beautiful portions of Lake Horicon at rest, it contains also 
the superb cataract where the Silver Y\"ater becomes^the Sounding Water. 
iA' the mountaios in Ticonderoga around the southern end of Lake Plor- 
icon are among the boldest on the lake, those in the remaining portion 
of its territory make it the most mountainous of all the towns bordering 
on Champlain. If the landscape on the Silver Water is bounded by 
gorgeous sides of wild and high-rising foliage, cutting oft' the white of 
the lower sky and reaching far up into the pure blue with living green, 
so also is the landscape in Trout Brook Valley, and in addition, the 
Plateau has the wide and magnificent view across Champlain to the 
Green IMountains. 

Two kinds of landscape, one confined, the other extended, belong to 
'Ticonderoga, the former in the Valley, the latter seen from the north- 
east of the town, andbith po.ssessing peoUiar claims to admiration. 
^ In the study of nature, we too often limit our search for beauty at 
the mountain tops without going above into the ever present, ever glo- 



WHAT TICONDF.ROGA F.X.IOVf!, \\>^ 

Hous sky. The heavons by day and by nigbt, at raorning, midday and 
cveuiag, ever with ns, vast, changeable, and yet pormancct, do n.ore 
than aught else we can look upon show forth the glories of the Creator. 
In this peculiar beauty of the sky Trout Brook ^'alley is especi.-illy pre- 
eminent. In few places is the line forming the limit of the horizon on 
all sides so near and high, so varied and so bold. Hence the ?ky next 
the horizon has a purer blue, a richer, deeper cerulean tint, than is of- 
ten seen. The . sun, and moon, and ea.stern stars all rise within six 
hundred feet of some dwellings nestling in the foliage close under the 
mountain on the east. It is not twenty, forty, or five hundred miles 
away to the sunrise, as oo the prairie or the ocean ; but only, in appear- 
ance, as many yards. The Valley i.s a huge high bird's nest, and wheia 
the glowing clouds of summer, the black masses of thunder beads, or 
the howling storms of winter rise and hang over its bold rim, they 
seem nearer than were tbe horizon more distant and hence are inves- 
ted with a more rare and exceeding beauty, and a grandeur more im- 
pending and sublime. The glory of rich foliage, sun-lit, wind-stirred or 
autumn-colored, is not far away as in wider landscapes, but near and 
lience more impressive. At times, when the valley is full of sunlight, 
to look upon its groves and mountain sides so near through crystal air 
and so rich in gorgeous light and shade, ten thousand timos ten thou- 
sand boughs close enough to be counted and to hear their breathing, all 
the host flooded, glad and glancing in the limitless radiance; or, the 
same mountain sides in winter when icy drops congealed on every twig 
give acres of forest with a foliage of crystals, glowing as no brilliants of 
the caves ever glowed at a royal festival,-— wakes an admiration in the 
dullest hearts that cannot repress espression, and an enthusiasm of de- 
light in those who fully appreciate nature as though in some unearthly 
vision. The farmers usually say: ' It's a splendid morning,' and when 
continued for weeks, ' It is fine weather.' Indeed, they ought to know 
that the boldness and nearness of the mountain ranges about their homes, 
bringing ev'ery beauty of earth and sky close at hand, are fitted to give 
them of all men impressions of the glories of the visible earth, pecu- 
liarly clear, distinct and vivid.* 

A wide magnificent expanse towards the east, of cultivated lands and 
groves, with boldness of rugged heightB in the distance, is the peculiar 
charm of the view from the Plateau of Ticonderoga, and indeed from 
all the western shore of Champlain. Hundreds along the eastern towns 
of Essex County know and admire tbe beauty of the Grjeen Moun- 
tains. We have heard old men speak of it, especially of the risings of 
the sun, shooting level early rays across the wide undulating valley, 

* The following extract from a hasty letter of tbe writer to a frieud among the level lands of 
Ohio, will picture further a part of the scenery of Ticonderoga. It would be much for the hap-' 
piness and profit of our citizens to cultivale a more appreciative admiraticin of Xaturc: 

'' Nest, you wish to see the fields, the groves, the hills, Iho valleys, the pleasant places, where 
you lived. Now to preserve these and carry them away with you " is a great study. You should 
make drawings of the several localities' il" you desire the freshest: remembrancers. But I have not 
had time for that. I have carefully painted the scenes in this valley on my memory. For this 
purpose I have watched it intently through all the changes of the seasons. I know just how it 
lookti when the mountains are robed in gold and crimson, in purple and orange, in mingled green, 
and gray, as no dyer on earth ever cctorod royal tapestry. I know how it looks when the hills 
are whitod with .snow .as no fuller on earth could while them I have fi.\-ed in my ears the sound 
of the rushing wind in the mountain pine, the drifting of the, sifting snow through the maple groves , 
the roaring of the storm along the bed of the valley. All my most vivid ideas of natural scener\- 
a.re connected with the. outlook about my home. Oflen have t been out in winter by starlight, or 
driven my sleigh slowly whilv. returning home from some evening meefinsr. to notice the draperv 
of the valley, the wood.--, the hills, and the solemn sky overarching the nwuDU\;u tops. I havo 



124 WIl/VT TICO>DEROGA ENJOY.*. 

Hgbted up at that time with peculiar loveliness, r?)rely seen, however, 
by the late risers of the present generatiuu. Travelers ypeuk of ii, 
and compare the soft bine of the distant heights to the azure summits ui 
the landscapes ol Italy. Even among the records left by rough milita- 
ry leaders in the days when the f^hores of the lake, though but an un- 
explored and howling wilderness, were yet fiercely disputed terrifory, 
we find frequent allusions to the surpassing beauty of the natural scenery. 
Ethan Allen, Thacher, Burgoyne are among the recorded admirers of 
(Jhamplaia 'N'^alley. If, as is often asserted, the natural scenery among 
which one is born and bred, exerts an influence in moulding the charac- 
ter and the intellect, the inhabitants of the lake towns of Essex Coun- 
ty ought to take wide, bold and cheerful views of life, for these are the 
characteristics of the landscape ever before them to the east. The 
changes of the atmosphere in this wide area produce some of the most 
varied and striking objects of admiration. To see Champlain Valley 
covered v/ith a sun-lit fog from the lake, lying low so that pine tops and 
liills jut through it like islands ; to see the same fog rise under the morn- 
ing sun and float oif in cubic miles northward and -upward = to watch 
the storms that rise in the distance, spread, and fill the wide panorama 
with pattering rain or light falling snow; to think how many homes 
are standing, how many hands are laboring, how many hearts beating, 
in the region within view; to mark the clouds that float about the sum- 
mits of the Green Mountains, now barely touching, now hiding entirely, 
and now rolling up from the forest-clad heights as though a giant were 
raising massive locks of hair from his mighty forehead, are scenes fitted 
to impart to every appreciative mind both a pleasure and a blessing. 

But we do not claim for TiooTideroga superiority over other portions 
of the handiwork of the Great King. 

"Beautiful, most beautifulJs all this visible earth," 
and our feeble sketch of this portion of it is only to attract greater ad- 
miration to what our citizens have never held in sufficijent esteem. A 
delight in every work of nature is a health giving sentiment, stirring the 
blood and inspiring strength and joy, and if not worth cultivating for 
these spiritual and physical blessings, it could bo justified lor its conse- 
quent material advantages. 

before my eyc-s the melting snow, the springing grass, the swollen hrooks, the wings of the clear 
Yoiuocl robin, the maple trees dripping sap, the early plowing, the young lambs, the first swallow.s 
under the eaves, the Urst^iightingak in the grove. It were a volume to catalogue the dehghts of 
iUiy or June, or of fervent and rich July, llie summer in this valley I have been studying to-day . 
The wide expanse of sky without cloud, and shimmering with iieat at summer noou; and then the 
(lepth.s of shade in the woods, and the glow of sunshine upon Ihe sea of mountain green ! Or 
anon, the storm growling behind the hills, rising dark, and close, and portentous, and lowering 
low with thunder. Our house is where it can never be struck by lighting, being near a lofty ele- 
vation that olfectually attracts the clouds. But the thunder echoes terribly at times between our 
hills. While batliing the other day I .stood in the middle of the brook in the centre of our valley 
in the rain and heard the explosions of sound bound and rebound from mountain to mountain, 
while electricity s-ireaked the ripples about me with unearthly fire. I thought I had never seen or 
heard aught more fearful and imposing. All these are paintings upon memory's page to carry 
Hway with me, aad 1 think I should not loose them though I weul to the emis of the earth." 



CaiAPTER IV. 



WHAT TICONDEROGA KEEDS.— Material, Social, Moral, and 
Intellectual Improvements. 



Sect- XLV.-'More Progress Equal with Sister Towns. 

Having now gathered, methodized and recorded the facts that show 
•what Ticonderoga is, what it does, and what it enjoys, the writer is bet- 
ter prepared to answer logically the last question concerning what Ti- 
conderoga needs. Doubtless the town has faults and necessities, and 
v?hy shall they not be reviewed kindly, fully, fearlessly? Best and man- 
liest of friends is he who tells us frankly of our failings. It were im- 
possible to carry out the main design of the Home Sketches, that of 
benefitting the town, elevating its public sentiment, and suggesting gen- 
eral and special reforms, without a bold exposition of its deficiencies. — 
Sensible of the important, and also of the delicate nature of this task, the 
writer, having consulted no one's opinions, oiFers his own with diffidence, 
desiring that they be weighed with candor and taken only for what they 
are worth. The data already collected will afford the reader the means 
of forming his own judgment. Figures, however, are the authorities. 
Many of the deficiencies pointed out are unanimously confessed, the 
larger portion are matters of personal observation,, and all are inferred 
more or less directly from various official records. 

As a basis of the entire chapter we introduce the following table, 
constructed from the Census, and Supervisor's Statements, in which Ti- 
conderoga is compared with four of her sister lake towns. Essex and 
Willsborough are omitted, having a somewhat smaller territory, and the 
other towns are not selected for criticism as the tabic contains nothing 
to their discredit as far as this comparison extends. The record con- 
tains many iatercstiug particulars to which earnest attention is invited: 



1 26 



WHAT tl'C6XDI:;i{0GA NELDS. 



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taught in 1850. 







Sect. XL VI. —More Improvement of Natural Advantages. 

From the central columns of the above table it will be seen that other 
towns, far less favored by nature, have distanced Ticonderoga in mate- 
rial progress at a rate to be accounted for not by greater numbers, or 
advantages, but only by superior enterprise, industry, and development 
of internal resources. The value of real estate at large, it will be no 
ticed, has increased — 

A little over three times, in thirty years, in Ticonderoga; 

More than five times, in thirty years, in Crownpoint; 

'i>rore than five times, in thirty years, in Chesterfield, 

More than four times, in thirty years, in Wcstport; 

More than six times iu thirty years, in Moriah. 



WHiT TirONDF.ROOA NKK.I)S. 127 

Men wlio weicfh these faots may well prononnno tlirm startling ior 
Tif.onderon;;i, and ask how her backwardiu'ss can be explained? 

ff 290,000 spindles, including looms and preparations, eould bo driven 
by the outlet of Lake Iloricon at its upper tails,* as much more power 
ooivid be exerted between that point and its mouth, so that it is safe to 
say that force e({aal to the labor of ten thousand men has been wasted 
in Ticonderoga and is yet, for want of enterprise and capital. Ten 
thousand men are lying idle in Ticonderoga, and every one who crosses 
the Sounding Waters may hear the babble of their voices. True, we 
do not literally feed and clothe them in their indolence, yet they might 
be at work to feed and clothe themselves, and thereby immensely en- 
Innce the value of our soil, our merchandise, and our manufactures. — ■ 
This is the first great material evil in Ticonderoga, confessed and lamented 
indeed but not reformed, — its uudevelopment, neglect, and abuse of its 
natural advantages. Any citizen who shall remove but a part of this 
evil will do much for the genera! welfare of the town. 

Nor can all the injury done, be fathered upon the Ellice party, though 
their conditions of sale long repelled purchasers. These were difEcul- 
ties no greater than have elsewhere been met, and which enterprise, 
wisdom and perseverance have broken through. Besides, the blight of 
these conditions never extended over the entire water-power at anytime 
and is now entirely removed from those portions once the subject of 
complaint.! It is a conviction which forces itself irresistably upon one 
who reviews candidly the history of the Ticonderoga Water-Power ami 
its shores, remembering at the same time what enterprise has accom- 
plished elsewhere, that if the occupation of these great sources of pros- 
perity has been somewhat difficult, it has never been so nearly impossi- 
ble as to become excusable, or fail of being culpable neglect. The 
recent opening of the door to these privileges, albeit it comes almost 
the day after the fair, increases the weight of the evil by removing its 
excuse. Ticonderoga has never developed its great natural advantages 
in this, nor, indeed, in any other department. Almost every branch of 
trade, of manufactures, and even of our agricultural pursuits, but most 
of all the Water Power and its shores, furnish facts to prove the reality 
of the want named at the head of this section. To these facts we ask 
distinct and earnest attention, hoping for reform in due time. All of 
them point to another and a deeper want, namely, 

Sect. XL VII. —More Men of Enterprise and Capital. 

It is continually admitted that if some well known men of enterprise 
had been in Ticonderoga for the last quarter of a century, it would not 
be what it is now; and this admission, with the condition of the town, 
proves that these men were not here. Of a celebrated English scholar 
it was said that if he had been left naked and alone when a boy in the 
centre of Salisbury plain, 1 friendless, penniless, without bread or direc- 
tions, his natural vigor and activity of mind would have secured him 
wealth, knowledge and high position. Men of suffieient enterprise in 

*Sse p. 1.5. 

tU is just to stato that Uic r|Uostion concprning Mrs. SlonKliton and Cliild, nipntionod p. 22, sort. 
IX, is claimod by the Kllicc party to be set completely at rest. That thry Lave ttstimoTiy in their 
posse?sinu conoerninjf the heir.ship, transfer, &c., which niaUes their title to the land unimprarha- 
hly secure, seems to be proved not only by their asset tion ,ind their exhibition of docnnivnts, but 
Viy the facts that no one successfully attempts to (lueslion lluir title ;it law. and that the lands <ov- 
■ercd by ii are selling briskly u.i men wtc usually know pcilertly what tliev are about. 



128 WHAT TICONDKROr.A NEEDS. 

TiconJoi'og.i, even without any remarkable capital, would in some way 
h:\vo achieved material success tor themselves and the town. The lack 
of means cannot be pleaded as a complete excuse, for that lack cornea 
from a want of knowledge, perseverance and industry. This is lajing 
gi-eat stress upon enterprise, but the writer has faith in omnipotent work. 
Financial deficiencies, foreign possession, competition, all oLstacles aa 
excuses swept away, we come down to inherent spiritual and mental de- 
fects, in a lack of energy, of enterprise, and of forecast — everywhere 
the main cause of poverty — and there find the true explanation of our 
neglect of our natural advantages. It might seem easy to say this and 
perhaps uncharitable, were it not easy to confirm. Few improvements 
have been permanent; few efforts, long continued; few largo enterprises, 
well-conceived or wisely guided. Too many men at leisure can be found 
at the village centre every day to indicate an active, vigorous beating of 
the town's heart toward virtuous enterprise. Without work there is no 
progression, but continual decline. It is of the highest importance to 
arrive at the cause^of causes, the deepest reason for our backwardness; 
and it will be well for our citizens, when, thoroughly convinced thai in 
the spirit of enterprise they are miserably behind the times, they arouso 
to an activity fitted to their powers, their oppoitunities, and their necess- 
ities. 

This done, it will bo proper to talk of lack of capital. On several 
oocasions men of mean^ have commenced business operations in Ti- 
conderoga on a scale that raised high hopes of prosperity and have failed, 
sometimes it is true for want of money, oftener for want of mind. lioth 
kinds of capital are needed, determination as weil'as dollars, sagacity 
as well as shillings. Judicious beginnings uiade by the town itself toward 
developing its internal resources would doubtless attract capitalists from 
abroad. But, men who arc able to make those beaiunings are too 
much absorbed in schemes of more immediate personal profit, to enter 
upon any looking so largely to the future and to the benefit of the en- 
tire town. Buried up in personal pusuit of gain, or lazily indifferent 
concerning progress, our citizens have manifested a thoughtless, some- 
times selfish forgetfuluess of many improvements of vital consequence 
to the whole town. We are led, therefore, to place next among our 
necessities, not any less attention to private interests, provided it be 
manly and upright, but 

Sect. XLVIII.— More Ke^ard for the General "Welfare. 

That self buries up humanity is the most vital trouble of the world. 
To neglect general reform, benefitting only the indefinite public at large, 
is a natural temptation yet an evil policy iiw a man seeking his own pri- 
vate welfare. It is partly from want of thought, and partly from want 
of benevolence, that many in Ticondoroga, directly or indirectly, are 
looking the wrong way for prosperity, 

A town is like a man. As every individual takes character from bis 
dominant faculties, so a town from its preponderating classes. It may 
be that by wealth, education, or superior energy a few will outweigh 
the many and become the preponderating class. Whatever classes 
weigh most, no matter how, by dollars or^ dctermiaation, by virtue or 
by violence, determine the character of the town. 



WHAT TlCONDKROGA NKKDS. 129 

What classes, then in Ticonderoga as a whole, asking of secular mat- 
ters, have the preponderaoce? 

The agricultural community, at the present time, by their superiority 
in wealth and numbers must be ranked first. Atter these, arc the mer- 
chants and mechanics, exerting influence by their enterprise and supe- 
rior prominence of position. The lawyers, doctors, and clergymen, by 
superior education, command an influence which would be stronger thau 
that of eitber class mentioned, were it not limited by numbers, and ex- 
erted usually by them not as a distinct class, but added to one or all the 
others. 

Regarding, now, all these classes, the first and most obvious remark 
is that the influence of none of them is very strong. Wealth, publicity 
and education, the sources of influence, are neither of them extraordin- 
arily extensive. All must work together, then, or sufficient force to 
succeed public improvements will not be obtained. This is a conclusion 
of the first importance. In view of this wide field and scarcity of reap- 
ers the evil of selfishness, inattention to the general welfare, or an indo- 
lent indifference, must be exceedingly greatv This is another conclu- 
sion of the first importance. Much too rarely do all the classes unite 
their influence. ^luch too feeble is their enthusiasm for public improve- 
ment. Much too low their sense of separate responsibility. 

A farmer is confined to his farm very much, and, happy in his own 
home, looks abroad to the general interests of the town too little. — 
Naturally, too, farmers are rather slow men to lead off in enterprises of 
public improvement; they will give their money, sustain and rejoice in 
reform, but rarely originate and guide it. They cannot be looked to, 
to right the town. Again, the merchants are bent on gain, so the me- 
chanics, and most others. Every man^for himself, tew for the general 
good, and thus the public welfar^e suffers. 

And what do we mean by the public welfare? The interests of Ed- 
ucation, needing close supervision in each district in half a score of sep- 
arate departments; the vital course of Temperance, involving that of 
public peace and security as well as of private morality; the general bu- 
siness of the town; the immense issues at stake in religious training for 
the young, the middle aged and the old, are what we mean, and these, 
we affirm, are more or less lost sight of in a selfishly exclusive attentiou 
to private interests. 

All this results in evil. It were easy to prove it a moral evil, but 
"we affirm it not less a tangible, material, dollar-and-cent evil, to every 
man of the community. A few men may work, but fail in the best 
cause unless they ean move a majority. 

The town needs, then, no less diligence for personal profit, but a more 
magnanimous and intelligent outlook upon the public well being at large. 
We would have no less attention to private affairs, but wo would not 
have that attention exclusive and selfish. We need more farmers, mer- 
chants, mechanics and lawyers who will not think they can live only by 
fatting number one and skinning everybody else, but who shall have the 
sense to know what reason and experience teach, that their welfare de- 
pends strictly on the general prosperity. 

Ticonderoga needs such an upheaval and revulsion of public senti- 
ment that it shall no longer be possible for a man to be so deceived as 
to say that any one who stands emphatically for the higher moralities of 



130 WHAT ticondkroga needs. 

life and law in Ticonderoga cannot obtain financial support. Though 
not all true there is something that is not false in this last assertion, and 
the fact that it should ever have been made and that it now seems by a 
few fearful minds to be tacitly acted upon, is enough to strike with 
shame every virtuous citizen who has stood neutral or inactive in ques- 
tions affecting the general welfare. 

We need more men who are willing to devote their time, means, and 
influence, on proper occasions, to the public good by laboring for the 
general interests of Industry, Temperance, Education and Religion. — 
No town organization should suffer, as many have, bec£use men are not 
paid for work on its committees. A few. should not be left to do pub- 
lic work alone, bearing all the labor and receiving no personal benefit. 
A generous and intelligent regard for important local interests should 
sweep over and bury that petty selfishness which comprehends no wants 
but its own, labors for no ends but those of personal profit, and wrecks 
its own vessel by losing sight of the great fleet of humanity. In short 
while private industry should be no less, public spirit should be increas- 
ed ten fold. 

A more zealous regard for the general welfare among all the classes 
of the town would bring about a greater unity in sentiment and effort, one 
^i our first necessities. It would make every man anxious to see bow 
much he could do not solely for himself, but for Ticonderoga. All 
would spend some thought in seeking means of improvement in indus- 
trial affairs, in social virtue, in educational privikges, in moral training 
for the whole town. United for such objects as these our citizens would 
have only to will to accomplish. Trade, agriculture, manufactures, 
schools, and the churches in the circle of the town would all receive 
healthier support. Ticonderoga hardly knows from experience what 
high and just public spirit will accomplish. 

Sect. XLIX'-- More zeal for the Moral and Intellectual. 
It is admitted that Ticonderoga has ever set too low a value on the mor- 
al and intellectual, too high on the financial, and miserably parleyed with 
the degrading elements which circulate through the community. Tru«, 
much improvement in respect to public spirit, care for education, social 
virtue, religious training, unity of sentiment and effort, has been exhib- 
ited of late, but the room lor better things is still so wide that the best 
wishers for the town have as yet hardly imagined what it ought to be 
and might be, when not a meagre few, but a majority, or, as should be 
the case, even the entirety of its citizenship, stand consistent in private 
action and resolute for the general welfare. 

It is sometimes claimed that we are as attentive to moral and intel- 
lectual interests as other towns of the same size and population ; but, 
even were this so, it would afford no excuse for actual backwardness. — 
We are to be judged, of course, not by our neighbors' progress, but by 
the standard of absolute truth and duty. Yet by the former standard 
we are deficient, xvl^ot to compare Ticonderoga with some rural towns 
of New York, the West, or New Ebgland, remarkable lor thrift, intel- 
ligence and virtue, we will take for measuring estimate two facts from 
two lake towns in the same county. 

In 1850 Ticonderoga exceeded Westport in population by 317, re- 
ceived $47 more public money, and yet Bent99 fewer children to school, 



UMAX TICONDEUOGA NEEtlS. 131 

bad 245 fewer volumes in the district libraries, and only 6 1-10 months 
of school, while ^Yestpo^t averaged 10 1-16. Ponder that. 

Iii 1S59 Ticonderoga exceeded Crownpoiut in population by 291, re- 
ceived considerably more public money, and yet sent 163 less to school, 
had 323 fewer volumes in the District Libraries, and raised $406 less by 
rate bill for the interests of education. Weigh that. 

An excess in the causes and a deficiency in the results is enough to 
cause alarm, but that the numbers which mark this discrepancy should 
be so large is really startling. Why does our population exceed that of 
sister towns, and yet our children taught and our months of school ftdl 
so far below.? In neither of the towns mentioned is Education cared 
for as it should be, and that Ticondeioga should be belotv that which is 
too low of itself, that with more soil and more seed Ticonderosxa 
should bear less fruit than its sister towns, is enough to wake the dull- 
est apathy. Are we poor? Certainly poverty cannot be' pleaded as an 
excuse for not sending children to the common schools under our present 
laws. Ai-e we obliged to employ children at home or do we teach them 
there.'* Neither to any extent. There is but one explanation of the 
above discreditable facts, and that the want named as the title of this 
section. Ticonderoga needs more zeal for Educational Training, intel- 
lectual, moral, social and industrial. 

We rejoice that this zeal is on the increase and has been manifested, 
in one direction by the founding of the Ticonderoga Academy. While 
the town endures may this institution flourish to elevate public sentiment, 
restrain social evils, and manufacture superior citizens. Intellectual 
and moral training lie at the basis of private virtue and public progress, 
and the voice from the schools, the pulpit and the platform is funda- 
mentably more important than the bum of trade and machinery, though 
Heaven knows how we love the latter. Eternal vigilance however is 
the price of soundinstruction and judicious training. Much more labor 
for education is needed and to sustain it much more zeal. A course of 
lectures maintained in the Institution just founded, ought to enliven 
every winter in Ticonderoga. From among its own citizens the town' 
could train and furnish men to speak acceptably. The writer believes 
that a series of Home Lectures in every town of the County might 
be maintained every winter by citizens within its limits, and bo of incal- 
culable benefit in bringing out the talent of young men, encouraging ev- 
ery noble reform, elevating public sentiment andjinstructing the people.* 
Other means of supplying bome wants, — reading rooms, lyceums, pub- 
lic libraries, regular visitation of the schools — would be abundantly 
planned and faithfully employed by that enlarged zeal for education 
which we advocate. 

Since the publication of newspapers has been so greatly increased by 
the agency of the Telegraph, and especially now that all civilized con- 

*Several towns of Essex County have had Heme Lectures during the past winter with cheering 
success. Six have been delivered in Ticonderoga, six in KeeseviUe, several in Lewis and Moriah. 
At the next lecture season there ought to be a well akran'gei> system, committees of the proper 
kind, an understanding between the several towns, provision for interchange, remuneration, &c. 
Home Lectures are possible, much needed and valuable in many ways. It is a duty that every 
good citizen ought religiously to perform, to seek out talent and desire for usefulness and give it a 
field of action. Let our best speakers and v^riters be called on to pass to and fro throuuh their 
own county, not ridiculous enough to bo ambitious of fame, impossible on so narrow a field; but 
of thalusefulness and self-improvement which are possible everywhere. Will nut the friends of 
the County see that this effort to supply Home Wants, this provision for moral and intellectual cul- 
lure, is made, sustained, enjoyed, and renewed at every lecture season? 



132 \VHAT TICONDEROGA NEEDS. 

tinents, cities, peoples and tongues, are placed within an hour's distance 
of each other by trans-Atlantic magnetic communication, the intelli- 
gence and intellectual habits of any community are pretty plainly iadi~ 
cated by the number and kind of the periodical publications they re- 
ceive. From ^the Post Office Records, and other sources we make 
out the list of received in Ticonderoga in 1857 as follows: 

^ Dailies. Northern Standard, 13 

Tribune, 3 Essex County Republican,. .. 13 

Herald, 3 Monthlies, 

Semi-Weeklies, Harper's Magazine, 2 

Courier and Enquirer, 2 AYater Cure Journal, 8 

Tribune, 2 Am.PhrenologicalJournal,. . 3 

Weeklies, Waverly Magazine, 1 

Tribune, 50 Cosmopolitan Magazine, 1 

Albany Evening Journal,. .. 15 Christian Repository, 4 

New York Times, 6 Godey's Ladies Book, 4 

Journal of Commerce,' ■'* . 1 Peterson's Magazine, 15 

Life Illustrated, 7 Young Reapers, 80 

Evangelist, 4 Guide to Holiness, 12 

Christ. Advocate and Jour., 21 Baptist Family Magazine, ... 13 

Christ. Watch, and Reflector, 4 Sunday School Advocate, .... 50 

The Examiner, 9 American Agriculturist,.... 5 

Brother J ohnathan, 7 Journal and Prohibitionist,. .60 

In political, moral and literary qualities this list shows well enough, 
but in number it falls far below the wants of the town. Only five ag- 
ricultural papers once a month among fifty farmers, a political paper 
once a week for only about one in twenty, and a religious once a week 
for only one in seventy of the total number of inhabitants, with due al- 
lowance for the known carelessness of readers, leaves actually the start- 
ling margin of nineteen twentieths in one view, or fifty-nine seventieths 
in another, of our citizens in the dark. When to these figures are ad- 
ded the facts that the public libraries of the town are small, and little 
used; that the Book Store has a greater trade in varieties than in the 
articles from which it takes its name; that few citizens have private li- 
braries of any extent; that though many seem to have leisure very 
few improve it by reading, or eifort for self-improvement of any kind ; 
and that lectures even in their season are rarely enjoyed, is;it unjust to 
say that Ticonderoga, though not worse than some other places, has by no 
means paid suiHcient attention to either public or private education, and 
to urge most earnesfly upon all its classes a greater zeal for moral and 
intellectual training.^* 

Sect. L.— Mere Self-Respect, Perseverance, and Hope- 
After all, one of the worst fiiults of the citizens of Ticonderoga, has 
over been that they have too little faith in themselves, too little respect 
lor their own town. Everybody continually runs down Ticonderoga ; 
rarely a man points to its true worth. Since the days when the^syllable 
tnugh was added to the name of a wild and rugged portion of our ter- 
ritory; since the time, years ago, v.'hen it was tauntingly proposed to 
erect' a guide-board at the lake, pointing village-ward, with the inscrip- 

*Kurtii<jr facts antl infnrencos concerning the want.s ol' the Scbrols, Churches, cause of Toni)io- 
ffinco, Triido. Tnrlu.^try. &c.. have been aUrady freely expressed in the closius sections of Chapter 
ni, and <hould be coiuiectert with those in Chapter IV. 



WHAT TICOMDHROCA NEEDS. 13,'? 

tion, " No God up there;" since visitors, judging of the town's present 
by its past, and of its entire citizenship by u few men never owned as 
specimens, have given the town a false reputation abroad : since specu- 
lators, saddling too many schemes on the untamed horse of our natural 
advantages, have had them tumbled off in ruins; since the virtuous ma- 
jority, met in a few cases by difficulty and opposition, have failed in 
some plans for the general welfare, deprecation, abuse, and want of 
confidence, have been working against Ticonderoga, externally and in- 
ternally, until the poor old town, pronounced by every returning son a 
little worse than when he was here before, voted yearly by outsiders to 
be running down and down and down, ought, by continually sinking, by 
this time to have become a very incipient Paradise. Working men iu 
Ticonderoga, however, give the lie to these assertions of retrograda- 
tion. 

A comparatively indolent and unenterprising class, it is true, are yet 
poor, and they ought to be. In a faithful and frank review of our faults 
we can have mercy for misfortune, but not for indolence ; for difficulties 
but not for degradation; tor absolute incapacity, but not for a stagnant 
soul. Men whose occupations are mainly to eat and drink, play boy's 
garaes,gossip, smoke, speculate, and sleep, working rarely, softly and slow, 
or those who pass a more gentlemanly leisure without much actual labor 
either of, mind or body; or even those who plan but rarely execute, 
promise but rarely perform, work some but know not how to vvait, ever 
more full of fussiness than efficiency, cannot expect to achieve much 
moral, intellectual, or material progress. It is moreover natural for 
such men to think that others are sinking like themselves. It is natu- 
ral too, for them to say so, and for those who take the assertors as speci- 
mens of the general welfare, to think so. Yet in this case desponden- 
cy is mistaken. 

The laws of Providence are not reversed in Ticonderoga. Work ad- 
vances ; indolence degrades a man here as elsewhere. Enterprise, in- 
dustry, forecast and perseverance, eventuate in prosperity ; habits of 
idleness, ease taking, and fickleness of purpose, ruin business, fortune, 
and reputation. Those who from laziness, indifference, or want of 
strength, lie on their oars, will float down the stream ; while those who 
row manfully will go up it, each according to the number of his strokes, 
and the strength of his arm. Wise and active men have grown rich iu 
Ticonderoga ; while those that will be foolish and shiftless have grown 
poor, both inevitably, both justly. Upright and manly men have built 
noble reputations ; while the vicious and unprincipled have become a 
hissing and a by-word, both unavoidably, both justly. It is amusing 
though exceedingly painful to see how these great laws of Providence are 
fiometimes overlooked, and the backwardness of individual classes shuf- 
fled off from its true position as the result of personal sins and fastened 
upon some great, indefinite, mystorious/rt^c that decrees dullness and 
retrogradation in Ticonderoga. There is no fate, of course, except the 
inevitable sequence of results from causes. But the causes, it is blind- 
ly and insanely claimed, are not in the men but in tho town, as if, for- 
sooth, the town were not made up of the men. Thus the empty and 
most innocent name Ticonderoga, is made the very convenient scape- 
goat for all the deficiencies and sins of the people. It is a common be- 
lief that nothing can be done in Ticonderoga, for the very weighty 



roasoii that it is Ticouderogu. Every evil in the town from its unoccu- 
pied water power to its dilapidated side-walks, is lazily brought to notice 
by those who would screen an effeminate lack of enterprise by some 
bolster of despondency, or hide a selfish indifference by pointing to dis- 
couraging obstacles which that very indifference itself has heaped up and 
confirmed. Citizens despond because the town is backward and public 
spirit low, forgetting that they form a part of the town and have entire 
control of that public spirit. Thus men wait, complain, suffer, and 
wonder, and meanwhile the stern laws of human life, fixed in the nature of 
things, work on and will ever work, steadily advancing the dilligent, 
the educated, and the virtuous ; steadily degrading the indolent, the ig- 
norant, and the unprincipled. Beyond dispute there is prospeiity for 
every mau who will work, joy for every man that will live according to 
the mandates of the Allwise, and that is the very truth, special and uni- 
versal. 

Not remembering these axioms of industrial and moral economy, or 
not acting upon them, a large portion of our citizens, in matters of pub- 
lic improvement, loose confidence, therefore Expectation, and therefore 
energy. Each fault feeds and corrodes the other, until all are made 
exceedingly fruitful of evil. This general want of self-respect, perse- 
verance and hope, is the first and greatest obstacle any good movement 
in Ticonderoga meets with. It is a blight upon the schools, the church- 
es, the various departments of industry and even upon the happiness of 
private homes. Nothing can be done, indeed ! Can a man say that, 
and not see a specimen of nerveless inefiiciency every time he faces a 
mirror.? 

But this despondency concerning the material, moral, and intellectual 
progress of Ticonderoga, is so unreasonable that to citizens of energy 
and information it appears ridiculous. Facts, within the observation of 
any thoughtful man, prove that Ticonderoga is advancing. 

For the last forty years, without any decided improvement of our 
natural advantages, and with the closing up of some business affaira 
suited only to the early condition of the country, the real estate of the 
whole town has steadily grown in value nearly ^10,000 every year. — 
Surely this marks some prosperity somewhere. Every one knows that 
the progress of rural localities is slow after they are fifty or a hundred 
years old ; the improvement made consists rather in refinement than en- 
largement, in doing work better rather than in doing more of it ;' and, 
in this direction, the dullest eye that looks over the facts of our history, 
herewith recorded, must see that Ticonderoga is advancing. Progress 
has been made in every department, industrial, social, educational, mor- 
al. No business for the last ten years exhibits so marked improvement 
as that of the Farmers, and this is the largest of the town. They do 
not all own more territory, but what they have is better tilled, more 
productive, and stocked with better cattle, better sheep, and better 
horses. A Farmers and Mechanics' Fair, lately organized, has at once 
proved and promoted the prosperity of those two largest classes of our 
community. Never have the merchants been further off from failure, 
confined their speculations more safely to the demands of the town, or 
enjoyed a trade more substantially remunerative. The people have ex- 
pressed themselves strongly against many of the social evils of tho 
place both at the ballot box and in public assemblies. At do time du- 



WHAT TICONDEROG \ NKEDS. i3^f 

ring tlie past have the churches, as 'Iheir records show, enjoyed so many in- 
gatherings, and so hearty support as during the lust five years. Education 
is more cared for; public spirit is increasing ; an Academy is founded. 
It is remarkable too that these late improvements have been begun 
precisely at the time when other important events in the material histo- 
ry of the town seem to promise that they can be sustained. 

Ticonderoga now begins to own her own territory. Titles are pass- 
ing from the hands of indifferent foreign owners to those of her own cit- 
izens, who seem resolved to effect improvements. It is now possible to 
write what could not have been said from the organization of the town 
to the opening of the present year, that there is no longer any portion of 
land connected with the Water Power of Ticonderoga, not owned by 
its own citizens or not for sale upon the most reasonable terms. Men 
who began to think of emigrating, now think of purchasing here. Ow- 
nership incites to improvements which are quietly going on. Houses 
and lands whose appearance long proclaimed that they were held under 
a lease, now show a change of circumstances. The tenants of Ticon- 
deroga, — for such many of our citizens have been too long, — are becom- 
ing freeholders. It is in view of the feeling of self-interest which 
must influence permanent residents that we believe that these are 
encouraging aspects for the present and full of promise for the future. 

Nor are these signs of progress to be found alone in the last few 
years, where they are the more readily recognized because of their near- 
ness ; but, were the past as well remembered, we should see that no de- 
cade or half decade of time has passed without some progress in Ticon- 
deroga, industrial, social, intellectual, or moral. Some single years 
may have shown retrogradation, as some single square feet in a flowing 
stream exhibit backward eddies ; but, take the space of ten years and 
the progress is remarkable ; and of twenty, and it is entirely impossible 
not to see that the general course of events has been onward, what was 
lost in one year being more than made up in others. 

A spirit of hope, therefore, ought to pervade the town, for despon- 
dency is unfavorable both to happiness and to virtue, both to energy and 
to love of improvement, while a reasonable expectation gladdens and 
enlarges all labor. 

It ought to be ever remembered that the elements of strength and 
prosperity reside in the individual man. The more strong and noble 
citizens Ticonderoga has, the better will the town become. Evermore 
talent, industry and virtue do triumph and make occasions for them- 
selves; while ignorance, indolence, and lack of principle, as assuredly 
do fail, despite their opportunities. Mere numbers are wealc, mere 
wealth is worthless, mere organizations are nothins2;, mere advantages 
are little, but individual character is all in all. Personal industry, en- 
terprise and virtue, existing in every individual of the commimity, are 
the agents of advancement, and no man can ever be a good citizen un- 
til he combines these qualities. The town cries out for more perfect 
men ! All things accomplished in the past, possible in the present, or 
desirable in the future of Ticonderoga point to the need of well-devel- 
oped citizens, temperate, benevolent, able, educated, enterprising, 
strong. Our fields are white for such laborers Therefore it is, as a 
means for their training and preparation, that the writer out of an anx- 
ious and full heart, bids the schools, God speed. For the same reason, 



136 WHAT TICOXDEROGA NKKbS. 

■with iutenscst desire for the well-being of his native town, he charges 
all the churches to quit theniselves like men. He conjures all the 
friends of social virtue, warring at their own charges for their neighbor's 
good, to staixi fast unto victory, for the night is far spent, the day is at 
hand. He summons all trade, all stirring enterprise, all industrial ad- 
vancement, to sow bountifully and reap iu like manner.' He repeats to 
capitalists everywhere the most urgent and reasonable invitation of our 
citizens concerning our natural advantages: Come, occupy, and pros- 
per. He asks every one that has projected any good thing for the town 
to pull down his barns and build greater. This done, and what through 
the preceding pages has been for Ticonderoga, the intense desire, the 
single object and the undivided aim of the writer, shall have good reason 
to change itself to prophecy. As infallible results of personal worthi- 
ness in every citizen, education shall be enlarged, moral training aug- 
mented, social evils wiped out, public spirit elevated, industry of every, 
kiud enlivened, and the immense natural advantages and internal re- 
sources of the town and of its people, not material only but moral, not 
temporal only but eternal, not in one but in every department, ultimate- 
ly developed, occupied, and enjoyed. Finally, therefore, as the sole av- 
enues to this advancement, as sure steps to this Better Future, he sol- 
emnly implores every citizen to cherish reasonable hope, a just self-re- 
spect, untiring enterprise, fervent diligence in personal affairs, wise 
r-egard lor the general welfare, indomitable zeal for the Moral, the 
Manly, the Intellectual. 

THE END. 



IXDEX. 



Page 

Abercrombice' Defeat, 101 

Howe-g Landing, 101 

Howo's Death, 102 

Abcrcrombies' Attack ou French Lines, .103 

Academy , The Ticonderoga , 84 

Formation Pai)er, 84 

Early Canvass, 85 

Kecords of Meetings, 86, 90 

Choice of Site, 87 

Kames of Trustees, 8S 

Names of Shareholders , 90 

Final DilBculties, 90 

Lectures in, 131 

Agriculture, Subdivisions of, 59, 70 

Effect of ■ Lumbering ou 41 

Allen Ethan, and Fort Ticonderoga, 105 

Journal of Capture, 105 

Sloop at St. Johns, 106 

Worth of Fort Ticonderoga, 107 

Hisj exploit estimated, 107 

Monument to proposed, 118 

Allen, R. L. Letter on Jlowcrs, 62 

Alliance, The Peoples' Temperance,.... .... 78 

Its Pledge, 80 

Its Results, 79 

Lectures before, 79 

Reform needed, 81 

Amherst, General, 104 

Succeeds Abercrombie, 104 

Captures Fort Tieonderoga, 104 

Repairs Fort Ticonderoga, .104 

Baptist Church , 94 

Barrels, manufacture of, 46 

Bears among Sheep and Cornfields, 12, 35 

Belden. Elisha, Early Settler, 31 

Berries for Groceries, , 36 

Boat Building, 70 

Boatmen, morals of, 71 

Boys, the Green -Mountain, 27 

Blackhawks estimated, 68 

Black Lead, Business, 57 

Blacksmiths' Business, 43 

BloclvHouse on Lake Iloricon ,,..,.. 20 

Bridge on Military Road, - 20 

Burgoyne , Ill 

Terrifies Champlain Valley, 115 

No. of his Forces, 113 

Takes Sit. Defiance, 114 

Occupies Fort Ticendoroga, 116 

Pursues St. Clair, 115 

Cabinet Makers, 46 

Canal, Opening of, 70 

I'apitalists, Water Power, atlracti\-c to, _ 17 



Capital, men of, needed, 127 

Catholic Church, 92 

Cattle, Improved Breeds, 02 

Cavity, remarkable, in rock It 

Champlain, discovery of Lake, 18 

His battle with Iroquois, IS 

Churches, influence of, 05 

Claims to Champlain VaUcj', i)8 

Congregational Church, 03 

Cook, Samuel, Early Settler, 31 

Cook, Mrs. D., her Narrative, o7 

Creek , unhealthy, 74 

Crops, Statistics of, 6» 

Deall, Samuel, his Letters, i-A 

Deall, Tract owned by, 23 

Deer about T.B. Valley 12 

Despondency for Ticonderoga, wrong, ^■:a 

Diplomacy at Fort Ticonderoga, lid 

Discovery of Lead Mines, fi? 

Diseases, most prevalent, 'iS 

District Schools, o!d,and new, C.f,-, gl 

Divisions, the four natural, .-. 9 

Dress in old Times, C4 

Education, PI 

Four periods in history of, f 1 

Friends of 83, (.0 

Comparison with other towns, i;-l 

Elections at Judge Hays, 29 

Elections of 1811, 1813, 1828, 1840, &C....72, 73 ' 

Elevation of Plateau, Valley, &c. , 10 

EUice, Hon. Edward, effects of, his claims, 10, 22, 
127 

Enterprise, needed, 127 

Epidemics, few, 75 

Episcopal Church, 92 

Factories, Woolen, .- 66 

Falls, Upper and Lower describe*, 14, 10 

Fair, Town, Farmers and Mechanics';- C8 

Farmers' wealth, progress, &c 57, 70 

Fevers at Lower Village, 74 

Forests, Second Growth, 12 

Formation, the geological, 9 

Fort Crowupoint, 99, 1C4, 

Fort Edward, 99. 

Fort Ticonderoga, 97 

Summary , History of 97 

Importance of, 91', 107 

Diplomacy at , 116 

Ruins of, .116 

Fort Wm. Henry, W 

Massacre at, •. 90 

French and Indian 'W'ar 98 

Foxes, ...'.....♦ 89 



133 



Index. 



Pace. 

!in'nar(»s,,J. Porter's, 42 

. Jonlogical Formation, 9 

■Jruiits. Eiirly, by GcorgoIII, 21 

I ; ni'u Mountain Boys, and Fort Ti. , 27 

Hulilibraad, General, at Fort Ticonderoga,....H6 

H:iy. Judge, Eiirly Settler, 28 

llcalih. local causes of,.. 75 

Hindrances to settlement, 21 

]-liiricou . meaning? of, 9 

M i.^loiical Summary , 98 

Ht.pe needed 134 

iiiises, 30 meulioued, 64-S 

did Stuck , 65 

New Stock, 60 

I.'i'IbIs, Upper Village, 55 

Twfft's American, 55 

i'ell's Pavillion. 55 

Lower Village 56 

faclulnge. 56 

1 louses of Farmer.?, and village, 70, 75 

l:n|)i'o\'ement in Schools, 82 

1: ilian Battle Grounds, 17 

•■ Battle withChamplaiu. IS 

■ Cauldron in Rock, 11 

' ' -\amc of Liike Clianiplaiu , 18 

■■ No dwellings of, 17 

■ Krlics 18 

\Var Path , 12 

lii'Ju.~trial Kffort, Change in, 32 

i.jteinperance in Ticonderoga, 02, 76 81 

lion Business 42 

Iron Ore, 13 

I'./llog, Judge, Early Settler, 30 

Ki'liy. John. Eiirly Settler, 28 

l.t.Ko towns corajKircd, 126 

l.iwyors fi-oin 1814, vi 

I -iid Mines and Business, 57 

t.. ' tures before Sous of Tern, and Alliance... 79 
in Aciidcmy and throughout County ,131 

1 .•■■:^;il Profession and Politics, 71 

;i.i-Wl(!r« Patent of Geo. Third, 21 

l.i.niher Business. 41 

i!'.>'.hiae Shoi>, ,\ 43 

M.i:iuractures, Capability for,. . » 15 



Miple Trees, and Sugar Making 

JlKchaiiics' Business, 

W'-i i-aniile Business, 



'M Stores mentioned, 46, 54 

Vliree periods of trade.... 54 

Mi'.iiary Pvcservations, 20 

.yiieri^ls of Rogers' Rock 13 

ilir.mg Plumbago early, 57 

X.'int Denrmce, II3 

• Hopx, 113 

Jiidcpendeuce, 114 

V' •:.'itain Pastures, 11. 12 

J', ■■.ntains, the. 11 j 

Mo.vtT, flr.stiiscd, 61 I 

.N»tuva! Advantage? 14, 127 I 

.■*i;ival ^cfii'.TV i-i-i 



Pm.k. 

Xeglcct of Natural .Advantages. iJT 

Xicknames 4;< 

Officers of Farmers and Mechanics' Associat'n li* 

" " Sons of Temperance, 77 

" " Peoples' Temperance AUiance,.. . 7y 

Old times, peculiarities of, o2 

Orwell, and Shoreham, t^i 

Outlet of Iloricon described, 14 

Physiciiins, 75 

Pioneers, characteristics of 27 

Plifteau, in ^^. E. of town, I* 

Pledge, of Alliance, so 

Politics of Ticonderoga, 7'i 

Potashes, timber burnt for Vr 

Presidential majorities, 74 

Progress, signs of, i.(."j 

Prohibition iu Ticonderoga , 7s 

Public Spirit, more needed, 12S 

Rattle Su:\kes in Old Times, 12. ;).'/, losi 

Rattlesnakes for Soup, 27 

Representatives from Ticonderoga. 72 

Religion, Churches and Pastors 02 

Religious Reminiscences, :!7 

Revivals in Ticonderoga, 'M. 'M 

Rhymes by Mike SiJicer, 44 

Rogers" Escape, 175S, : U'O 

'• Rock, 101 

• Slide, lot 

Roller, first made, ti- 

Ruins of Fort Ticonderoga, MC 

01<1 Well 117 

Allen's Entrance, 1 1 T 

Parade Ground. 117 

La Place's Door. 1 IT 

Barracks, 1 1 > 

Callows, lis 

Magazine lis 

Sally Port, Ii'.' 

Trench, Pio 

Counterscarp, P.;o 

Oven, 12! 

Saw Mills ;, I! 

Old King's, 20 

S. D«n's, 2". 

J. Weed's, 41 

Present Business of, 42 

Schuyler, Gen., his claims, 21 

Select Schools, 8;i 

Self Respect, more needed, 132 

Settlement, Hindrances to, , 2J 

School Histricts organized, ?i 

School Teaching in old times, 30 

School Houses, old and new, S2 

Scholars sent abroiul, 84 

Schools, improvements needed 8'i 

Shiittuck, Gideon, early settler, 3o 

Sheep, destroyed by Wolves, M 

'• on the mountains, H. 1*. 

'• breeds of, improved, i'jB 

■■ Shcariri-s H 



Index. 



i3s 



»Pagr. 

Sbefp. rieoce*. weight of, T. 64 

?lieldon, Nfrs. A., her narrative, 33 

Slavery- iiaco nf, , v 40 

Soil, ihroo kinrts of, 59 

Hpicer. MlU'e, his rhymes, 44 

•Springs, ii^T. B. Valley, 11 

>i. Clair. Gon., , 112 

' ' prepares to meet Burgoyne , 112 

'• No. of his forces, 113 

'• Evacuates Fort Ticonderoga, 114 

Stores, 46 

Old K'm^'-s 29, 4" 

aoui,'hlon & llcalPs, 24, 47 

Ki'llog & Doujjlass', 47 

.1. &F. Harris', 47 

■Weed & Douglass', 48 

Old Red, 4S 

North of Creek 48 

J.*S. Weed's, 49 

Old Weed's, 49 

Fields", , 49 

Brick, 50 

. Bugbee's, 51 

Tread way's, 51 

Weedsville, «... 53 

■G. C. Weed's, 52 

Thompson s. 52 

ExobaDge, 52 

Baker's, 53 

luion. 1850-52 53 

MoConnick's, 53 

Burleigh,.,. ' 53 

Groceries, 54 

■< inperance, 76 

First. Organization. 76 

Ro.su lis of Early ECfort, 76 

No License Vote, 76 

Wijsbiiigvoniauism, , 77 



f AGB. 

Sons of Temperance, 77 

Charter Mem's. & W. ?'s., .",.. 

Prohibition, 7s 

Peoples' TemperauceVAlliance, 

Results of Alliance, 

I-cctures before Alliance, '. 79 

Pledge of Alliance jio 

Reform yet needed. .sx 

Thacher's Journal at Fort Ti los 

March to Fort Ti., los 

Rattlesnakes ,,. , 10s 

Defences described. lou 

Arnold's Battle on Lake, log 

Winter Life in Fort, 110 

Bear quells riot, 1K« 

Retreat hefore Burgoyne,. ..... .115 

Titles, conflicting, French and English, . 31, OS 

Ticonderoga, meaning of, & 

Travel between Lakes,.. -.,......05 

Trees, kinds of, . . . ]i 

Tremble, George and Alexander, ;iO 

Trout Brook Valley, . 11, 74,125 

Universalists Church, r'2 

Valley, the, in south of town, .......]2 

Valley remarkably healthy, ........ 74 

Valor, learned around FortTi., ...... H» 

Value of Real Estate, • . . . . 12?» 

Visit to Lead Mountain, ---..-..58 

VotesbfTi., 1811,-1858, 7ii 

Water Power and its Shores, - - ~ - - - 14 

Wants of Tourists, - - 96 

Wealth, in whose' hands, ----•..?.& 
Why Ticonderoga is Historic Ground,". - - -* 

Wolves, - - 12, 34, C;3 

Woolen Factories, - - - - 55 

Worthiness in every Citizen, - - - - - l'?'i 
Zeal for the Moral and Intellectual, - - - 1J8 



K R E A T A ; 

Pag^e 9, liuc 1, for northwest XQA^-northeatt. 
" 20, line 21, after War insert and. 
23, line 25, for 177G read 1767. 
42, line 43, for Alpheus read G. C. 
49, line 40, for 1821 read 1831. 
67, line 11, for G. W. read G. JV. 
99, line 10, for Dieskall read Diakati. 
123, line 41, for undulateral read undulating. '■ 
In a few places, for corne read ca?ne, aud correct slight misprints 



HOME SKETCllES 



OF 



ESSEX COUNTT 



t^ i 1 n b f r o f| a : 



1. WHAT IT 1.S: 

2. WHAT IT DOES; 

3. WHAT IT E>J()Y8 

4. WHATITXEEDS. 



By FI^AVirS J. (OOK.. 



W. E&NSINtf & SON; 

"'' " '"58*, ■ ' ■"^■< 





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